The realm of Meridia, formerly a realm of wars and suffering, has been outwardly at peace for many generations. The peasantry has flourished, crops have doubled their yields even in the least prosperous areas, and the wealth of the lords who live in the Realm has only increased, bringing up the towns and cities of the region in their wake. Scholarly guilds have flourished too, arriving in Meridia bringing knowledge, science, advancement and technology. For most within the region, life is good, peaceful, and a source of contentment for those who live there.
But in the night, people sometimes go missing. Wives leave the house, never to return. Husbands go outside, found later, dead, pale and drained of all life. Children play in the fields, and some return outwardly normally save for a ravenous appetite for meat and a penchant for leaving the house of a night time. Every peasant in the land would say their life has improved, but the price of improvement does not go unnoticed by all. Those who go missing are noticed by some, and the ones who rule over their lands are not always as normal as they appear.
Recently, a group of rabble rousers have stirred up trouble in some of the cities, towns and villages of Meridia. A group calling themselves The Followers of Truth. They have disavowed many of the lords of the realm, some earning a price on their heads, others simply a knock on the door with a warning. But they always go after some lords, and never others, some individuals and not others. And their claims are equally as odd as their actions - they make the claims that the lords are not always what they seem. That some are, in fact, not of the same stock as the peasants and men of Meridia.
Most reject their claims as foolish. After all, wouldn't people have noticed if these claims were true? But rising up to meet them are a strange group - The Society of the Black Cloak. They are even more shrouded in secrecy than the Followers of Truth, and rumours abound as to their activities and members.
Conflict emerged first and foremost when the headquarters of the Association of Peace was destroyed in a battle between these two major organisations. The Association of Peace, longtime protectors of the realm from the danger of all-out war between all involved parties, thus became defunct. Some successors have attempted to reform the organisation since the event, but no unified force has ever managed to reach the level of power enacted by the Society.
With two rival groups who each have mysterious and intriguing natures, histories and practices, the realm of Meridia, even if not on the surface, looks fit to blow underneath the surface, where darkness lies and unholy things come out to play at night, and those who take it upon themselves to defend the light shall clash with them. That which is unholy shall return, and those who deem themselves righteous shall defend against them.
Welcome to That Which Is Unholy, a low-fantasy, medieval-themed nobility and supernatural character roleplay. The realm of Meridia is a realm where the absolute rule of nobles is protected, where noble family carries status, and where there be monsters of many kinds, even in amongst the nobles and leading figures of the world. Meridia has seen unrivalled prosperity and peace, and yet due to the actions of those fighting for or against unholy things, war may break out, under or on the surface, between the groups. Not all people know about the activities that go on overnight, with many who have an inkling of knowledge simply repressing their ideas to keep up the idea of a stable peace, and those who do know often refusing to take sides for fear of reprisal. Very few have heard from the Emperor, who often stays out of noble affairs, thus leaving the nobility to their own devices, having to control their own laws and destinies, and with two rival organisations vying for control against the backdrop of the political intrigue. The realm is prosperous, but for how long can that last? The crops bring bountiful harvests and coffers overflow, but will the prosperity last a sustained assault by those who wish to cause chaos? Take your place in Meridia, and shape the history of this region to your command.
Races:
Humans:
The usual residents of the realm of Meridia, down from the smallest peasants to the highest lords. According to many humans themselves, they are all that exists within the realm. There are no such things as supernatural beings. However, a wolf's howl in the night, or a tale of the spiritual will set the hairs on the back of their necks stand on end. Do not underestimate the tenacity of humans - they may not have the raw brute strength or long enduring lifespans of some of the... Higher beings, but they have strength aplenty in their numbers, and keen minds that help them to discern facts about the universe that many would deem dangerous, but which humans always have a knack of using. Some humans with a knack for inward reflection opt to learn the ancient magical arts, and while some, such as court wizards, use their power to help human causes, others, such as covens of mages and witches, tend to use their power to assist the supernatural beings of Meridia.
Lycanthropes:
Tales of the Howling have endured throughout history. The howls of many beasts that hunted through the region, preceding the discovery of a mangled corpse or a field of slain livestock. The causes of the Howling are lycanthropes, otherwise known as werewolves. Some say that werewolves began with a hunter, known for over-hunting in the lands, who was punished by being forced to become a beast every night. Whether this is true or not, lycanthropes may become wolf-men every night while others rest. Lycans may choose what nights to engage in this behaviour, though are forced to transform on the night of a full moon. If they refuse to transform for too many nights, they may lose even more self control on a full moon night than usual. They may also transform during the day, but this tires them out at a very high rate and causes a massive dip in energy afterwards. They are physically stronger than humans, even in their humanoid form, and often have a penchant for red meats and hunting, though personalities differ between individual lycanthropes.
Vampires:
Some call them 'Nosferatu', others call them bloodsuckers, and yet others call them vampires. Vampires, unlike their mythic counterparts, cannot become bats, but they are functionally immortal, and consume copious amounts of blood. Most are quite diplomatically skilled, though this is not a universal truth, and they have an aversion to sunlight and bright lights in general, which tends to hurt their sensitive eyes and burn their skin at a higher rate than humans. Notably also, they possess elongated canine teeth, used for attacking their prey, be that human or animal, and drink the blood.
Changelings:
Often considered the least harmful of the races, but also the rarest, changelings are born with the ability to become a single animal at will. They usually take on the characteristics, both physical and mental, of the animal they may change into. While most of the races above carry dominant genes when interbreeding with humans, changelings tend to only produce other changelings when breeding amongst their own. Changelings are the least influential of the races of Meridia, though receive just as much of a stigma as the others. Generally, Changelings may transform into only one animal in their lives, though some skilled Changelings have managed to steal others' forms also, and some are born with a predisposition towards more than one animal also, but this is much rarer than regular changelings.
Societies:Note: Membership of an organisation is not required for applicants. Many will likely be independent, even amongst the supernatural beings, especially those who wish for peace.
Major SocietiesFollowers of Truth:
The Followers of Truth are less of an organisation geared towards knowledge, and more a religious, military and propaganda machine, an organisation of humans with extreme prejudice against supernatural beings. The idea of following truth means to expose the supernatural nature of many lords of Meridia, and the organisation's military arm, known for sporting white surcoats with golden sun patterns, organises purges of supernatural beings, usually those who are amongst the peasantry, though their aims recently have expanded to include more violent protestations of lords, but nothing yet has come of this. The Followers of Truth are, arguably, fanatics, geared towards removing all witches, lycanthropes, vampires and changelings from Meridia (with some even going as far as all magic users). They are human supremacists, and are the main human-only faction in Meridia.
There are two major chapters or subfactions within the Followers of Truth:
- The Novasectatorial Chapter - Otherwise known as the 'New Followers', the Novasectatores are the chapter lead by Reinhardt Geraldson, which generally advocates for violence in the pursuing of safety for humans. The Novasectatorial Chapter is responsible for many of the battles that the Followers have been involved in during their recent history, and they carry the majority of the sway within the Followers' ranks.
- The Ghautierite Chapter - Colloquially known as the 'Old Guard', many of the Ghautierites advocate for campaigns of information, attempting to bring to light the fact of nonhumans in positions of power, though some also advocate for an upholding of peaceful methods within the Followers. However, the Ghautierites are often dragged, either willingly or not, into the Novasectatorial campaigns of violence.
Society of the Black Cloak:
Formed mainly as a foil to the Followers of Truth, the Society of the Black Cloak is an organisation of allied supernatural beings. While some supernatural beings consider other races to be their enemies, by simple virtue of their own race, Black Cloak members are all united against the threat of the Followers of Truth. However, their actions also are geared towards a lessening of human power as a whole, with many members having no qualms with attacking innocent humans or their livestock for food, or even just entertainment. Black Cloak members tend to draw mostly from lycanthropes and vampires, though some witches and changelings are included in their ranks. They are notable for the black cloaks they wear.Scholarly Guild:
The Scholarly Guild is a manly human organisation, but is much more accepting of outsiders. It is a technological and scientific guild, one with the purpose of expanding scientific knowledge. The Scholarly Guild does not answer to any of the other major guilds, instead preferring to remain on the sidelines, offering shelter to all non-fanatics who come to them.
Other Extant SocietiesBrotherhood of the Sacred Claw:
A lycanthrope-supremacy organisation, the Brotherhood of the Sacred Claw arose from a hunting lodge run by werewolves to become a full-out human-hunting organisation. They care not for the plight of other supernatural beings, and will happily tear through changelings and vampires in order to achieve their aims.The Sanguine Hand:
A vampire-supremacy organisation, the Sanguine Hand has aims to eradicate or enslave all humans and other supernatural beings. This makes them by far the most radical of all organisations.
The Forest Pact:
Less of a supremacy organisation and more of a changeling-isolation group, the Forest Pact was formed of disillusioned changelings who wished to leave society. They will defend their independence, however, and those who infringe upon their rights or territory can expect a summary death. They have no official symbol, but sometimes place red crosses on trees to signal "keep out".
The Grand Coven:
Witches who all work in unison to bring about an end to the peace within Meridia. They focus mainly on chaos. While many magic folk amongst the humans have caused prosperity with their magic, the Grand Coven wishes to undo all of that. They have no official symbol.
Defunct Societies
The Association of Peace:
The Association of Peace was the organisation which kept the peace throughout Meridia, allowing supernatural beings to live alongside humans peacefully. However, in a battle between the Society of the Black Cloak and the Followers of Truth at the location of the Association's main headquarters, the headquarters was destroyed, and the Association sent into disarray. Since its demise, some have attempted to reform the Association, but none have achieved much more than a loose alliance of independent lords.
Apps:
Major Required Positions:Other Required Positions:
- Archon of the Society of the Black Cloak
- Chief Scholar of the Scholarly Guild
- Chief of the Brotherhood of the Sacred Claw
- Grandmaster of The Sanguine Hand
- Archmage of the Grand Coven
Rules:
- Standard roleplaying rules apply, as well as the rule to not be a dick.
- Minimum of two paragraphs of approx. 4 lines in length. At some point, I may set up a discord to facilitate co-writing for long periods of single-line interactions, but I will see how that goes first.
- You may have as many characters and individual locations as you feel comfortable with. While the same is true of noble houses and subrealms, try not to spam the map with these too much.
- When claiming territory, claim reasonably, and within the non-grey area. Please show your locations when you claim on the map.
- Don't be too overpowered when making your character. It's tempting, yes, but it's much more fun to have weaknesses as a character.
- If you will be absent, please let us know so we don't assume you have just lost interest.
- Have fun, most importantly, and allow others to have fun too.