Beyond Light's Reach (Fantasy, OOC, OPEN)

[Tomia]

Mmm.

My dragon loves all these big men in their big suits of armor. It's like a portable grill with each meal!

Bad dragon, no killing team members

[The Republic of Atria]

Mmm.

My dragon loves all these big men in their big suits of armor. It's like a portable grill with each meal!

Inb4 their armor is fire immune.

[Tomia]

Mmm.

My dragon loves all these big men in their big suits of armor. It's like a portable grill with each meal!

Inb4 their armor is fire immune.

Modern problems require modern solutions

[Sarderia]

It is done, waiting your accept.

No, I mean in general. I'll make him less murderous here, but how was the villain in general? You're an old forum member so you might have suggestion for me

Alright thank you, accepted.

I think your writing and detail was pretty good. And it got better as you delved into his childhood trauma and all. I would say he comes off as gary stu-ish which was what some of my criticism was. Could def see him being a solid villain in a story though. I think the biggest thing to work on is motivation and ideology.

If I got to keep the Soul thing weakness, the character woud definetly not be a Gary Stu. I plan for him to be some kind of a monster in the future (he can't even eat normal foods, just like Doctor Strange), and being a brat just like Jaime Lannister in the first seasons.

Anyway, do we have a discord?

[Tomia]

Alright thank you, accepted.

I think your writing and detail was pretty good. And it got better as you delved into his childhood trauma and all. I would say he comes off as gary stu-ish which was what some of my criticism was. Could def see him being a solid villain in a story though. I think the biggest thing to work on is motivation and ideology.

If I got to keep the Soul thing weakness, the character woud definetly not be a Gary Stu. I plan for him to be some kind of a monster in the future (he can't even eat normal foods, just like Doctor Strange), and being a brat just like Jaime Lannister in the first seasons.

Anyway, do we have a discord?

Not yet, one will be made once the IC comes

[Finland SSR]

Mmm.

My dragon loves all these big men in their big suits of armor. It's like a portable grill with each meal!

Inb4 their armor is fire immune.

Theo's immune at least.

[Sarderia]

*Character patch 8: added more weakness to prevent him being a cliche shiny magical all-powerful knight.

[Finland SSR]

I know that we already have someone filling up the Necromancer niche, but imma try to be different here regardless.

(Riki and Natasia will be able to fight on who gets to raise which corpse)

Name: Riki Farinhait
Age: 23
Gender: M
Race: Human
Appearance (pics if possible):

Mage?: Yes
Bio:

Riki was born into the House of Farinhait, a dynasty of mages residing in the empire of Tashar and serving the Enchanter Order as loyal battle mages. His father was adept at fire magic while his mother was his personal healer - in fact, that's how the two of them met. Naturally, Riki himself was born with an ability to control Magika as well, and as the child grew up, he was starting to reach the age when he would start taking up a magic discipline and train to become an Enchanter. However, any and all plans which he might have had got completely shattered when a depressed courier arrived to the Farinhait mansion, informing the sole child and his relatives that both of his parents have fallen in battle. The life of a battle mage is dangerous, after all, and dying for one's country was expected in the Tashar military, Enchanters included.

The Farinhait family was distraught, but none were as distraught as little Riki. The teen had never had any experience with death before, and now he had to come to terms with the fact that he will never get to see his father and mother's face again. So much will forever be left unsaid, so much he will never get to share with the two people he had known for all his life... It was something which Riki could never come to terms with. And this made him perfect fodder for recruitment. One day, the teenager got reached out to by a mysterious middle aged mage he was vaguely familiar with - he was an old friend of his father, as it turns out, and got the kid's attention with a single sentence: that he knows how to have Riki meet his parents again.

Riki was inducted into the Order of the Fading Butterfly, one of the main underground necromantic orders in the borders of Tashar - and one which stood out from, say, the College of Necromancy in the Magi Consortium. The Fading Butterfly held a very specific religious belief - though they followed the Pantheon, the only one of the gods which they recognized was Datune, the Goddess of Penance, while all the other deities were believed to simply be ancient mortals who received boons from her and were thus assumed to be gods by their progenitors. Datune is the goddess of second chances - and the greatest second chance which one might receive is a second chance in life. As such, the Fading Butterfly researched into the depths of Necromancy to be able to fulfill Datune's will and grant these second chances - and so did Riki, applying his Magika abilities to study the long history of necromantic arts.

As it turns out, Riki had quite a talent for Necromancy, and a few years later, he was already focusing to complete his first act of mediumship. Much to his surprise, he succeeded, establishing a connection with his deceased mother's soul - and while their contact was brief, only lasting for a minute, during which he only barely had time to explain how they were talking and how far he had went to hear her voice again, it filled Riki with inspiration. It was possible to cheat death.

However, the young necromancer would soon get a taste of exactly why his Order was so secretive. Even before the death of his parents, Riki was being scouted out by the Enchanters as an addition to their ranks, and this search intensified when the heir of House Farinhait suddenly vanished with his whereabouts unknown. When they finally caught wind of him again, he was already a novice necromancer and had the abilities to defend himself from conscription with - and it took the Order only a few clashes to figure out that the teenage mage was dabbling in the dark arts. Riki immediately shifted from a potential recruit to a potential threat and was forced to hide from there on out.

You can only hide for so long, however. The second dramatic turn in Riki's life took place when he, already an adult, joined several members of his Necromantic order in a quest towards the borders of Tashar and Dascus, in search of a rumored artifact with potent magical abilities. On the way, however, the necromancers were suddenly ambushed, faced with detachments from a marching Tasharian army - the sellswords they hired as their first line of defense were taken out, two of his friends were severely injured, while Riki himself, under the orders of the Enchanters among their ranks, was taken as a prisoner by the army. They had the power to simply execute Riki and his friends then and there - however, planning to extract information from the young necromancer on the hiding places of the Fading Butterfly, they opted to take him along and grant him whatever punishment he deserves once they return to the capital of Tashar.

But before that, they had to storm Haden Hill, and Riki, chained and dragged along, would soon come to witness the chance to not only escape, but to help shape the fate of the planet forever...

Fighting Style: Necromancer
Abilities:

• Necromancy: Also known as Nekyia, it is the art of magic which allows the user to contact, raise and control the dead. While often painted as the darkest side of magic and a transgression of the natural order of the Universe, Riki does not see anything nefarious or wrong with it - the bodies of the deceased won't be used for anything else, after all, and their spirits miss the living often even more than the living miss the dead.
  
  • Mediumship: The practice of acting as a "medium" between the dead and the living, communicating with the afterlife, either through the apparition of the spirit's voice, or nonverbal methods such as writing text or manipulating objects. Such a contact is known as a séance. At its most extreme application, mediumship allows the necromancer to descend to the afterlife (an act known as Katabasis) and return with a soul in tow, manifesting them in this reality as a ghost - however, Riki has yet to achieve such a feat.
  • Raising the Dead: When a person dies, a small portion of their spirit continues to linger in their corpse for some time - Necromancers are able to project their Magika to tug onto this lingering spirit and animate the dead. The animated dead are fully subservient to their summoner, but do not retain any of the abilities they had while they were living, essentially acting as mindless decaying hordes of zombies and skeletons.
  • Nekyian Resurrection: Raising the dead is an area of effect ability and essentially just turns corpses into puppets with no connection to who they were while living aside for their appearance. Meanwhile, Nekyian Resurrection is an advanced version of Necromancy, closer to a partial "resurrection". With a complex ritual and sacrificing a portion of their own soul, a Necromancer is able to reach out to the soul of a deceased person and tie it to their former body with a spiritual chain, partially bringing them to life. While the soul is not restored to the body, it is able to control it from the afterlife as a puppet, and is thus able to physically interact with the world of the living. If they had unnatural abilities, such as holy boons or magical powers, they are restored, but their body is zombified and will eventually decay.

Limitations:

• Mediumship: A medium is only able to contact a spirit in the afterlife if said spirit is willing to contact him, such a contact may not be forced. Accomplishing a Katabasis is an extremely dangerous act - not only does it take an extreme amount of effort to depart to the afterlife while still having a living body, but the afterlife is obviously also heavily guarded and doesn't want anyone intruding to steal their inhabitants.
• Raising the Dead: The risen dead, as stated before, do not retain the abilities, skills and memories they had while living and instead act as a mindless army of zombies and skeletons. Their individual strength solely stems from their size and mass, as well as any weapons they have with them, and the average risen dead is no stronger than an average human. In addition, the risen dead decay, lose their shape and eventually collapse, losing their connection to the necromancer. The speed of decay depends on how preserved the body was before getting raised - a fresh corpse could stay up for weeks, while a skeleton which has been buried for many years could, at best, remain stable for an hour or two.
• Nekyian Resurrection: Nekyian Resurrection costs the user a portion of their soul - with each resurrection, their body decays and turns less and less lifelike. An average Necromancer could only conduct four such resurrections before their body decays completely (if an another Necromancer is present while they decay, however, they could possibly "rescue" them by turning them to a lich instead). Resurrected beings are not controlled by the necromancer and instead operate by their own free will. Their undead bodies are somewhat restored and preserved by the ritual, but will eventually decay regardless. Being undead, they can take a lot more punishment than a normal person, such as severe wounds or lost limbs, but too much damage, or holy magic, can severe the spiritual chain connecting them to the body and thus "kill" them.
• Life Magic: To the undead, healing spells burn rather than heal, and Slayer weaponry, which is designed to take out the undead, cuts through them like paper.
• Non-Combatant: Riki is not a combatant by any means - in battle, he relies on the corpses he is able to animate as his method of defense and attack alike. While the ritual to raise the dead is relatively speedy and takes about ten seconds, it is useless if there are no bodies to raise anywhere in his vicinity - and sometimes ten seconds can be far too long, too. As such, Riki does best in situations where he has time to prepare - surprise attacks are his kryptonite.

Equipment:

• Casting Knife: A small enchanted knife with impressive drawings and carvings on its blade. It is not fit for combat - however, its blade leaves a temporary narrow bright trail when touching a surface. This is necessary for casting Necromantic spells, as they require specific drawings for the necromancer to project their Magika into deceased bodies and thus reanimate them. It is the only thing which Riki managed to avoid getting confiscated by the Tashar army, by hiding it within his clothes.

Optional Questionnaire
Favorite Factions: None of those listed.
Least Favorite Factions: Slayers of the Crypt, Empire of Tashar, Enchanter Order
Favorite Memory: His first séance with his deceased mother.
Goals: To reform the image of Necromancy to something accepted by society, instead of having it be painted as an evil and nefarious art.
Greatest Fear: Dying and not getting reborn.
Religion: The Pantheon (but only Datune)

[Zarkenis Ultima]

-snip-

Hey, great work there! Always nice to see other people using the lore I wrote for my app

[Ihsalihna]

Sayyida ul h'Ehlam

Great job, I found the bio to be extremely well written, only thing I'm a little confused about is the quills, does she use those as weapons or does the one quill simply attack people out of lack of stability? Either way, accepted

Thank you! I really appreciate it, I'm still unsure of my writing after all these years. Also the quills are meant to be mostly utility/flavoured items. The one quill is simply temperamental and likes to stab people, though that one and the burning calligraphy quill could be used as distractions in a fight - I doubt the stabby one would be much more than an inconvenience.

They were mostly there to add to the magical merchant idea - I was originally going to add some other magical non-combat things for utility and fluff, but figured she had enough already for a character just starting out. Though I notice someone mentioned characters working together as a party - if we're going to be coming together as a group though circumstances and such, should I add in a few more support-character style artifacts since we don't seem to have a healer or anything? Even just a magical merchent's tent or a portable cooking fire, for downtime periods? I understand though if adding things isnt appropriate.

Hey, great work there! Always nice to see other people using the lore I wrote for my app

I'm glad you approve! I always try to incorporate lore that's already been written about lore areas instead of just shoving my own in, plus your stuff was too cool to pass up. Not to mention it'd be fun to write how Sayyida might react if she meets a member of the royal family of her homeland.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

I'm glad you approve! I always try to incorporate lore that's already been written about lore areas instead of just shoving my own in, plus your stuff was too cool to pass up. Not to mention it'd be fun to write how Sayyida might react if she meets a member of the royal family of her homeland.

I'm glad you think so! And yeah, that'll be a fun interaction to look forward to.

Regarding your question, I'd say your character has plenty enough trinkets as is for the time being - though there's nothing saying you can't get more over the course of the IC. If we're in need of a healer after battles, NPCs are always an option - though, just for good measure, I'm working on one myself

[Ihsalihna]

Regarding your question, I'd say your character has plenty enough trinkets as is for the time being - though there's nothing saying you can't get more over the course of the IC. If we're in need of a healer after battles, NPCs are always an option - though, just for good measure, I'm working on one myself

Gotcha! And yeah, my character is probably going to have to rely on the mods when it comes to finding items and goods to buy and sell. But that opens up more chances for adventure hooks and keeps things balanced so it's for the best, I'd say. Lookin' forward to reading the new app!

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Regarding your question, I'd say your character has plenty enough trinkets as is for the time being - though there's nothing saying you can't get more over the course of the IC. If we're in need of a healer after battles, NPCs are always an option - though, just for good measure, I'm working on one myself

Gotcha! And yeah, my character is probably going to have to rely on the mods when it comes to finding items and goods to buy and sell. But that opens up more chances for adventure hooks and keeps things balanced so it's for the best, I'd say. Lookin' forward to reading the new app!

Thanks! Might be a day or two, sadly, since I've other things to do even on NS.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Name: Saelaam of Trelia.
Age: 23
Gender: Male
Race: Ar'el Thalari (Thal'kal)
Appearance: Here
Mage?: Yes
Bio: Hercynians are known to the rest of Eboris as ruthless winged warriors, raining spears and arrows from the sky upon anyone who treads into their forest. This reputation is supported by both Tasharen and Eshonie survivors of countless failed incursions into Hercynian territories, which historically resulted in both of these nations giving the eastern forest a wide berth - though this has recently changed with the discovery of ancient artifacts and Tashar's quest for obtaining their power. There is, however, another side to their culture. While most believe that Hercynians are best represented by their leaders of the Kh'el tribe - proud, impetuous and violent - the politics of the court are handled, instead, by the Ar'el, the crows. Scheming, backstabbing sorts, the crows are always found serving the eagles, taking care of all the intrigue of court politics while their leaders war against each other and the other nations of Eboris.

Young Saelaam, born to the Alvari clan of the Ar'el, was fit for neither lifestyle. Not nearly as physically fit as the eagles, falcons or dragons that comprised the armies of Hercynia, he also found himself repulsed by the underhanded dealings his fellow crows and ravens regularly engaged in. He was groomed to be cunning, self-serving, and cautious to the point of paranoia - it was in their nature, they said - and any act of kindness, which came naturally to him, was punished severely. This quickly bred resentment in the young Thalari, and a rebellious spirit that soon became impossible to quell despite his family's harsh discipline. At the young age of thirteen, Saelaam Alvari reneged on the Thalai and fled from his home in the Hercynian spires, heading west into the Empire of Tashar. He wished to reach the Kritarchy, where he knew he would be well received despite being a ser'ana'thal.

For some time, the young crow simply wandered the countryside while avoiding any settlements, as he knew full well that he was unlikely to get a warm reception - he was content to hunt small animals for sustenance and occasionally observe any humans he came across while moving westward. His luck was bound to run out one day, however, and he was spotted by a Tasharen military expedition headed towards Eshon. Mistaken for a lone Hercynian raider, he was shot down by Tasharen archers, one arrow sticking out of his leg and several piercing his wings. By some miracle, he managed to escape the soldiers, but, crippled as he was, he only managed to crawl to a nearby riverbank before losing all his strength.

He thought he would die. Instead, Saelaam woke up on a cot inside a temple of sorts, a pair of kind blue eyes looking at him. The young man discovered he had been saved by a priestess of Oadot, who had found him half-dead by the river and brought him back to the local sanctuary, located in Trelia, a Tasharen town near the border with Sarthares. There, she had nursed him back to health with the aid of Oadot's blessing. Puzzled, he questioned her motives for saving him when any other Tasharen man or woman would've been content to leave a Hercynian to die - in response, she simply told him that she had sworn to help anyone in need, regardless of origin or allegiance. To someone who had fled from the cruel and selfish crows, such an honest display of kindness was both comforting and inspiring.

Saelaam stuck around in Trelia, adopting the town's name as his own and helping around in the sanctuary however he could, until the head priest accepted him into the Chosen, teaching him how to use Oadot's gift to heal the ailing and, more importantly, realized something about him that no one had during his time in Hercynia: he was a magically capable individual. The head priest himself possessed the gift of magic, being a former member of the Enchanter Order who had deserted his post after years of service to the Empire, no longer willing to spill blood in its name. He took Saelaam under his wing, teaching him how to aid others with both blessing and healing - the head priest was an impressively talented offensive mage, but the young crow had no intention of learning how to harm others, and instead learned spells of transport and protection.

With the war for the artifacts in full swing, the Chosen's services have been required more and more. Saelaam has now found himself part of a small group of Chosen attached to the Knights of Shotarr present at Haden Hill, to aid with the peacekeeping and take care of the wounded.
Fighting Style: None - Saelaam has no combat training whatsoever.
Abilities:

• [Ar'el Heritage]: A member of the Ar'el tribe, Saelaam lacks the strength and endurance that other Thalari have, but in turn he has a pair of large black wings that allow him to soar the skies on a whim. As a ser'ana'thal, he has exceptional clarity of thought, though in exchange his instincts are nowhere near as sharp as those of other Thalari.
• [Support Magic]: Saelaam is a decently talented practitioner of magic, though rather than the flashy, destructive kinds that other mages throughout Dascus and Tashar practice, he has opted to focus on less glamorous, though still quite useful spells.
  Shield: A simple spell that creates a translucent barrier around the target which is able to take a lot of punishment before breaking down. It can be created in bubble form or wall form - the former protects against attacks from all sides, but the latter has much more raw durability.
  Warding Rune: A magically created object that functions much like a shield spell, but is much stronger owing to its greater complexity - they can be used by non-mages, as well. Saelaam can only create them at night, due to the demanding magika cost.
  Teleportation: This spell allows Saelaam to, after a brief cast, instantly relocate himself to somewhere in his vicinity or line of sight, and allows him to take objects and people alongside him as well as long as they are in contact with him. Saelaam also possesses the ability to shift the locations of smaller objects and creatures with a quick word and an index finger motion.
  Arcane Beacon: A most useful contraption and one of the few innovations of the Enchanter Order in the field of magic, an arcane beacon is a magically-created object that allows its creator or someone with the creator's permission to teleport to it from anywhere in Eboris as if using a regular teleportation spell. The process required to create one is complex and takes quite a bit of time, but Saelaam has a good grasp on it.
• [Oadot's Blessing]: The ability that makes Oadot's Chosen so well-liked throughout the continent, this blessing allows Saelaam to heal others of their injuries and ailments, to a degree. Though the blessing is shared by all the Chosen, effective use of it requires knowledge of the proper incantations, and not every wound or disease is healed the same way. Saelaam is quite adept at the use of the blessing and knows many incantations, though the highest peaks of its healing powers remain unknown to him for the time being.

Limitations:

• While his flight is quite a boon, and one that does not tire him out easily, it is still not as perfect as a true bird's - he is slower, for one, and obviously a larger target as well. Archers and ranged magical attacks are the bane of his existence.
• There is only so much punishment his barriers can take, and they excel at protecting against physical attacks - a barrier may protect against dozens of arrows, but just a few magical attacks will get through it.
• Warding runes, while stronger than barriers and lacking a weakness against magic, cannot be created in the heat of battle.
• Teleportation, as mentioned, has clear limits: the caster can only move to somewhere in his line of sight, within a small radius, or to a previously established beacon, and can't take along anything not in contact with him. It requires a brief casting time, as well.
• Since Saelaam has been taught to gather most of his magika from the moon, he usually only has limited reserves during the day.
• Oadot's blessing is an ability that is not hard to pick up, but is extremely difficult to master. Saelaam is quite adept at it, and can temper even grievous wounds, but he will not be helping people grow lost limbs back anytime soon.

Equipment:

• [Robes of the Chosen]: The robes that conform the uniform of Oadot's Chosen, specifically altered not to obstruct Saelaam's wings or impede flight.
• [Dagger]: Exactly what it says on the tin. Saelaam isn't any good with it, but his fellow Chosen have warned him of the impertinence that is taking to the road without the means to defend oneself.
• [Warding Runes]: He always has a couple on him, just in case, as well as a few blanks in order to make more if necessary.
• [Arcane Beacon]: Saelaam carries a fully assembled beacon wherever he goes, in case he needs to set it up in some place he visits. Currently, the only other beacon he has access to is in one of Oadot's sanctuaries, in the Tasharen town of Trelia.

Optional Questionnaire
Personal Quest: He's still looking. Give him a bit of time.
Favorite Factions: Oadot's Chosen, the Knights of Shotarr, the Honor Guild.
Least Favorite Factions: The Guardians, the Street Crawlers, the Enchanter Order
Favorite Memory: The face of a grateful young boy he had found injured in the streets of Trelia.
Goals: To lead a noble life and aid those in need.
Greatest Fear: Becoming like the members of the Court of Crows.
Religion: The Pantheon

[Finland SSR]

Name: Riki Farinhait

Finished my app.

And made the 50x50 face for Zark so he doesn't need to make it himself.

[Utceforp]

App is finished.

[Tomia]

Knight Commander Yaleth Yshfaethel

Nice job Utceforp, accepted, just want to check, did you clear the part about Prax with his writer?

Riki Farinhait

Accepted, great job Fin

[Utceforp]

Knight Commander Yaleth Yshfaethel

Nice job Utceforp, accepted, just want to check, did you clear the part about Prax with his writer?

Yeah, me, Skyggeheim, and Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune have been working out the details of Eckers over TG.

[Tomia]

Nice job Utceforp, accepted, just want to check, did you clear the part about Prax with his writer?

Yeah, me, Skyggeheim, and Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune have been working out the details of Eckers over TG.

Cool, that's what I thought

[The Anarcho-Syndicalist Commune]

I know that we already have someone filling up the Necromancer niche, but imma try to be different here regardless.

(Riki and Natasia will be able to fight on who gets to raise which corpse)

I like him. He’s more of the classic ritualistic necromancer to Natasia’s death knight

[Ormata]

Question for you all. Would a Runesmithed Colossus be alright? Likely 15-ish feet tall. Sorta old-ish.

[Tomia]

Damiana Florevian

Accepted, you could have kept shape shifting if you'd like btw

Question for you all. Would a Runesmithed Colossus be alright? Likely 15-ish feet tall. Sorta old-ish.

Eh not sure runes would really be able to accomplish that tbh

[Kaziimar]

Damiana Florevian

Accepted, you could have kept shape shifting if you'd like btw

Question for you all. Would a Runesmithed Colossus be alright? Likely 15-ish feet tall. Sorta old-ish.

Eh not sure runes would really be able to accomplish that tbh

Really? Cool, I'll add it back...thanks Tomia.

[New Neros]

10 Considerations

1. Consider: No Gods wield a sword. Glory to the Pantheon.
2. Consider: The sword is the sacred object of fools and idiots.
3. Consider: Only idiots strive for Dominion and Lordship.
4. Consider: Become a farmer. If you cannot feed the world, feed your nation. If you cannot feed your nation, feed your village. If you cannot feed your village, feed your family. If you cannot feed your family, feed yourself. If you cannot feed yourself, then you may draw your blade.
5. Consider: Magika and it’s practitioners and adherents mistake the language of Gods for the birthright of mankind. Give your praises to the Pantheon for their gift.
6. Consider: A straight sword is the best weapon available to mankind, though I am fond of sabers as well. The proper length is within 100 centimeters. Spears are weapons fit for peasants, as a rock tied to wood is no different than a single pronged pitch-fork.
7. Consider: Your mind is the most useful tool in your arsenal, until it is faced with combat. Then it is useless, and the only useful tool in your possession is willpower.
8. Consider: Your body is the greatest defender of the mind, until it is faced with combat. Then it is useless, and only willpower can defend you.
9. Consider: Defeat is the greatest teacher in the universe. An undefeated master must be exceptionally poor at their craft to have never met a challenge they could not overcome.
10. Consider: Cutting Down your opponent is the only valuable skill in this wretched world. One must exercise this action to exhaustion, so as to eliminate all hesitation. Cleave the world in two if you must.

12 Precepts

1. A sword is a tool for liberating the heads of men from their bodies. Nothing more.
2. Keep your stance wide and fluid, your grip loose and responsive. Rigid statues serve as poor swordsmen and even poorer king-slayers.
3. Do not keep the blade close to you, it is a vile weapon. Swordsmen who take their swords as lovers find themselves impaled on enemy blades more often than not.
4. Breathe. Inhale the frost of mountains and exhale the breath of volcanoes. Your body must give off the terrible heat of battle, your blood must boil! Terrible swordsmen are afraid to breathe dragons’ fire.
5. Learn to read the weather. Be prepared to face cold and heat, though they are undesirable.
6. The aftermath of the Cut is dreadful, and the men who take pleasure in it are more vile than the swords they swing. The Cut itself is beauty, and should be appreciated, even if it is from your most hated enemy.
7. When decapitating an enemy, it is severe impoliteness to use more than one blow.
8. To Cut, you must annihilate your past self as it is not Cutting. Your body must be cutting, your mind must be cutting, each swing that cleaves your opponent in two must terminate your pre-present self as well.
9. Do not hesitate. Do not cling to the result of your actions. Clinging is the error of men, and you are Royalty. A swordsman who slashes without thought of his action can annihilate the Gods.
10. Do not take pride in victory. Life, obligations, family, lovers, hatred for opponents, training, and mastery mean nothing when in battle. There is only Cutting, and it is the only way to survive.
11. Do not take pride in your weapon. You must learn to annihilate opponents without your blade, a true swordsman needs no sword if he can deal death his palms, feet, and hands. Your blade will fail, but you must not.
12. Have complete awareness of each crawling thing and each precious flower, each blade of sweet grass and each clod of bitter earth, each beating heart and each being that throbs with love, hope, and admiration. Only then are you qualified to be their annihilator.

7 Arguments

1. Argument: Shotarr, God of War, praise to the Pantheon, wields a Greataxe. A weapon of barbarians and simple-minded folk, he is no fool. Pankrator, Lord of Swords, wields a great many blades and can Cut the strings of life. He is a noble jester. Pray to him and receive his blessing, and learn the ways of cutting the space that occupies men.
2. Argument: Chtholes, God of Judgement, praise to the Pantheon, is the most revered God. Even time shall be judged at its conclusion. You will populate his underworld, pray to him for forgiveness at each shrine.
3. Argument: Magic, Alchemy, and Runesmithing are the Language, Preparation, and Smithing of the Gods. Men were not meant to partake in such endeavors. Purification is the rejection of those Gifts, and should serve to anger the Pantheon.
4. Argument: Elves are the rightful owners of Eboris. Man, Mer, Thal, and Dwarves are the rightful Conquerors of the continent, however.
5. Argument: Rever the Guilds of Good Faith, these are Oadot's Chosen, The Foresters, and Storm Chasers. Give to them when able. Beware the Merry Men and Dragon Slayers. Do not give them the time of day.
6. Argument: This manual should serve as the greatest wisdom on the continent in favor of taking up life as a farmer, and the abhorrent Art of Cutting should die out. Man must not wield swords as the Gods should.
7. Argument: There is only one way to be a pure master of sword law. This is to allow your body to become absolutely soaked with death.

---

Name: Enu Rasa
Age: 23
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Mage?: No

Born to vagrants and beggars, Enu Rasa was raised on the streets of Varum, capital of the Empire of Tashar. Her father was a soldier felled in battle, and her mother a local lunatic who shouted nonsense at inanimate objects, so she was often found in the company of other orphans and at some point in her childhood, simply stopped seeing her mother all together. Enu was tough, though, and fought with boys and girls alike for scraps of food when it came to the alleyways and sidestreets, becoming known as a fierce glutton. Everything changed, however, when the young girl found a broken, rusty short-sword while digging through the garbage.

She and the blade were inseparable, the trash of some traveling soldier becoming her prized possession. She was often to draw it and use it to intimidate others, steal the food she wanted and get the things she had felt she so rightfully deserved, yet the weapon remained unstained by her hands for quite some time. Never having drawn blood or taken a life, Enu was eventually put on the spot by three older teens when she was but ten years old. Armed with bats and chains, they wanted compensation for Enu's intimidation tactics, and of course, a street urchin has nothing to offer but attitude and spit. She drew her sword and gave them a chance to turn and walk away, but they knew she wasn't about using her weapon.

But they were wrong this time, and it cost the trio dearly as Enu closed her eyes and charged, yelling at the top of her lungs and plunging her weapon into the stomach of one of the boys, taking and lifting him off of his feet and planting him on his ass, a gaping wound in his chest that poured blood. Withdrawing her sword from the teen who would soon become a carcass, Enu turned and swung like a rabid animal at the other two, liberating one of their hand and missing the last remaining member entirely. Rightfully, the two bolted and left their friend to perish, drowning in his own blood in a few agonizing moments. A passing beggar witnessed the encounter, and approached Rasa.

"Fourth Precept," The woman began, "Breathe. Inhale the frost of mountains and exhale the breath of volcanoes. Your body must give off the terrible heat of battle, your blood must boil! Terrible swordsmen are afraid to breathe dragons’ fire." The words were strange to Rasa, who had raised her blade to protect herself from this interloper. "Second Precept, Keep your stance wide and fluid, your grip loose and responsive. Rigid statues serve as poor swordsmen and even poorer king-slayers." Enu lowered her sword slightly and loosened her grip, finding it more comfortable holding the weapon without her rigid clasp. The beggar smiled slightly, and turned to walk away from the scene.

"When you are of sound mind and body, find me the Rakshata Wilderness. I will teach you how to use that despicable instrument to annihilate Gods." When the beggar had left entirely, Enu Rasa remained with the dead body for a time, pondering on what to do. She figured she must train and prepare herself, but first needed to leave the crime scene before her murder could be discovered. No one came for the boy, his murder was never investigated, his body was left to rot and be eaten by stray animals, such was the life of the downtrodden of Varum. For the next three years, Enu Rasa trained her body and practiced her weapon, stealing a few books and manuals on how to properly use a blade, as well as how to condition your body. She was unable to read at first, but slowly learned the meaning of the symbols that became letters and eventually words, sentences, and such.

On the day of her thirteenth birthday, Enu arrived by merchant cart to the Rakshata Wilderness as instructed, running from the cart as she was unable to pay her fare. The merchant gave a yell and shouted curses, but dared not chase after an unruly teen girl into one of the most dangerous wildernesses on the continent. Though she seemed lost after a while, the girl had some idea of how to survive in harsh terrain from the manuals she had read. She brought nothing but her clothes and her sword, yet the large swathes of uncharted forest was quite the monster to behold, and how Enu planned to find the beggar woman in such a woodland maze was beyond her.

It crossed her mind several times that the beggar could have been like her mom, shouting nonsense and bumbling like a fool, but she was determined to see this adventure through, and honestly, anything was better than the life she was leaving behind. Finding a small encampment of bandits and outlaws by chance, Enu Rasa walked into the lions' den with confidence, not overbearing, but enough to hold her own. Stared down by the outcasts of stable society and deserters from battle, Enu asked if there lived a master swordswoman in the expansive wilderness.

"Au Vidal." One highwayman replied, "She lives in a hut several miles upstream, swinging her blade at imaginary foes, eating bugs and drinking water directly from the river. I would call her insane," He explained, showing a grave and serious look on his scarred and battle-born face, "But I have personally seen her battle ten thousand men completely naked. Except her sword, of course." Enu thanked the man for the directions and promptly exited the camp in the direction of the river he had mentioned, finding it after a few minutes travel, and then spending the rest of the afternoon travelling upstream to find the lonely hut of Au Vidal, Sword Saint.

Her first glimpse of her new master was that of a stark nude woman holding a straight sword in knee-deep water, staring off in the distance for some time. Rather than interrupt, Enu stayed by the waters' edge and observed, watching as Au folded her arm up and swung it down rapidly, a white aura encasing her blade, her strike reaching out and splitting the water between herself and the shore, slicing apart even the small rocks on the shoreline. Letting out a gasp, Au was alerted to Enu's presence, and stared at the teen. "I hope that by following my instruction, you will be thoroughly encouraged to become a farmer." Au stated, "Strip nude and enter the water. Training begins now."

Without hesitation, Enu did as she was told, and so began her journey into a living hell. For the first week and one day, she was starved, unable to eat a single bite of food and only able to drink, breath, and train - Sleep would fall somewhere in between. At the end of that fast, her mind was of sufficient state to learn the true meaning of swordsmanship, Au explaining to a barely conscious Enu that all she had learned in her studies was for peasants and amateur soldiers. With her real training beginning after her fast, Enu followed a vegetarian diet, barefoot sprints from the edge of the forest and back, squats and breathing exercises, and sword drills and resistance training.

By aged sixteen, Enu's body was a steel edifice, she could run from the forest edge and back to the river without straining her breath, she could break stones with her fists with little effort, and had virtually mastered the sword. Au Vidal was pleased with the progress her apprentice had made, and sent her to battle a true foe, giving her the mission to slay one of the giants living in the northern edge of the woods. It took a day and night for Enu to return, badly damaged, her sword was shattered into thirty pieces, her right leg was almost torn from its socket, and her honed body was broken pathetically in a hundred and forty places. When asked if she had succeeded, Enu nodded fiercely, explaining to her master that she had defeated him by gouging his brains out through his nostrils. "And what did that teach you, young apprentice?"

Glancing at her bloodied hands, "My thumbs were more useful than my sword." Enu stated. The normally stoic and hard-pressed master smiled with unrestrained glee, her student able to understand the futility of prolonged combat and was finally ready to learn the true art taught and mastered by Au Vidal, The Art of Cutting. Enu was taught the 12 Precepts of Sword Law administered by Au Vidal, which focused on the singular action of a sword cut and how it must be made fierce and unquestionable. There is to be no hesitation in action, as outlined in Precept 5: "Do not hesitate. Do not cling to the result of your actions. Clinging is the error of men, and you are Royalty. A swordsman who slashes without thought of his action can annihilate the Gods."

It would take another few years for Enu Rasa to learn the Art of Cutting to a suitable degree, becoming a revered swordswoman in her own right. Her master would take her to watch the large battles and skirmishes at the borders of several kingdoms so that Enu could see for herself the combat only mortals are capable of, even the fierce tournaments in the royal and imperial capitals had them as spectators to watch how others fight so that the pair could learn more. Though they were master and student, Enu saw Au like a mother she had never had, and respected the Sword Saint for her endless wisdom.

At age twenty, Enu had already left her masters' quarters for several months out of the year to go on her own adventures, studying, and the like, finding work as a bodyguard for several nobles in that time and gaining some traction as a mercenary to make ends meet when it came to money, though, she often resorted to begging as she was accustomed to. As Enu returned to her master's hut, though, she found the place ransacked and burnt to a crisp some time before, Enu several weeks late to the act. With her master nowhere to be found, Enu took it upon herself to avenge her fallen teacher, and set off into the world to look for clues wherever she could, finding herself distracted along the way to take her mind away from losing her only mother figure.

Fighting Style: Swordfighter
Abilities:

• [The Art of Cutting]: A virtually unknown but exceptionally powerful skill, the user is able to project their slashes and multiply their power by focusing all of their training, skill, talent, and power into a singular, "beautiful" blow. It is achieved by exceptionally long and grueling training, as well as religious following of Sword Law. High affinity with the blade, more so than most mortals, is an absolute requirement to attain The Art of Cutting. Enu Rasa is one of the few people to learn the Art, and is said by her master that her cuts are beautiful but wicked in their execution, whereas Enu finds her teachers' cuts striking and fluid. The Art is a boon gifted by Pankrator, the Lord of Swords, a minor deity of the Pantheon.
• [Steel Edifice]: A relentlessly trained body with significant upkeep and follow up, Enu is much more than the physical prime a normal human woman could achieve through her following of Sword Manual of Au Vidal. She outclasses men in most regards as well, but in all things, she is but a human. She can be overpowered, she can be exhausted, hit, stabbed, you name it.
• [Pattram Sword Hand]: An unarmed combat skill picked up by first reading the Manual of Hand and Feet, a short book on the various martial arts found on the continent, and then by Enu seeking and finding the school in the Lower Oak province of the Empire as part of her training under Precept 11. The school of Sword Hand is an external style that focuses on blows so precise and sharp that they turn the edge of the hand, foot, or finger into a cutting implement strong enough to part flesh, sunder armor, and cleave bone. Unarmed or empty-handed styles that do not strongly focus on internals have little regress against sword hand, and for that manner neither do many weapon styles. It’s one weakness is its incredible drain on stamina. If a practitioner does not kill his opponent in a few serious blows (and the style is rarely used seriously for anything other than killing intent), he will quickly find himself too weak to even drag one foot after the other.

Limitations:

• [Human]: As stated before, Enu Rasa is a human woman, she has wants and needs, she has power, but her body is fragile compared to a good set of armor or magical protection. She needs to piss, shit, eat, and sleep like a normal person. She needs to train to keep herself in fighting shape, as well as keep up her skills with her sword daily.
• [No Magic]: In a world of enchantments and spells, Enu knows nothing of magicka, spells, or anything of that nature. She is exceptionally skilled in liberating heads from their bodies, not in the summoning of whirlwinds or great fires. She is at a disadvantage against sorcerers, though she has faced some in the past, she has managed to overcome only few.
• [Stamina]: The Art of Cutting and Pattram Sword Hand are taxing on the body's energy reserves, and though Enu is trained and equipped to handle such highly rigorous techniques, she can, will, and has ran dry on energy, to the point that she couldn't drag her body away from a severely exhausting battle.
• [Ranged Weaponry]: Without the fantastic armor of warriors or the magical protection offered to mages, Enu has no real defence against arrows and bolts. She herself cannot use those weapons effectively, either, so must be content with only using her niche abilities in melee combat to be effective.

Equipment:

• [The Blade of Want]: A well-taken care of weapon, Enu is often seen cleaning and handling her weapon, but is not afraid to use it for it's intended purpose, and is not attached to it, seeing it more as a tool than a prized possession. She has broken swords previously, and purposefully chose a weapon that a travelling merchant described as, "able to repair itself with the iron-blood spilled from its blade". She still haggled for half a day for it.
• [Travelling Pack]: Nothing of note besides some money, books, and clothes. She tends to carry light and is not used to having much stuff from her upbringing and training.

Optional Questionnaire
Personal Quest: Find her masters' murderer
Favorite Factions: Oadot's Chosen, The Foresters, and Storm Chasers
Least Favorite Factions: Merry Men of the Vine, The Order of Evrouin
Favorite Memory: Resting under a plum tree, eating the fruit with Au Vidal when their training was over for the day, laughing at the stories her teacher would tell.
Goals: Perfect the Cut, Become a Master of the Art of Cutting, Start a Sword School
Greatest Fear: Insects
Religion: The Pantheon, Pankrator (lesser sword deity) in particular

[Utceforp]

Name: Enu Rasa
Age: 23
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Appearance :

(Image)

Mage?: No
Bio:

Born to vagrants and beggars, Enu Rasa was raised on the streets of Varum, capital of the Empire of Tashar. Her father was a soldier felled in battle, and her mother a local lunatic who shouted nonsense at inanimate objects, so she was often found in the company of other orphans and at some point in her childhood, simply stopped seeing her mother all together. Enu was tough, though, and fought with boys and girls alike for scraps of food when it came to the alleyways and sidestreets, becoming known as a fierce glutton. Everything changed, however, when the young girl found a broken, rusty short-sword while digging through the garbage.

She and the blade were inseparable, the trash of some traveling soldier becoming her prized possession. She was often to draw it and use it to intimidate others, steal the food she wanted and get the things she had felt she so rightfully deserved, yet the weapon remained unstained by her hands for quite some time. Never having drawn blood or taken a life, Enu was eventually put on the spot by three older teens when she was but ten years old. Armed with bats and chains, they wanted compensation for Enu's intimidation tactics, and of course, a street urchin has nothing to offer but attitude and spit. She drew her sword and gave them a chance to turn and walk away, but they knew she wasn't about using her weapon.

But they were wrong this time, and it cost the trio dearly as Enu closed her eyes and charged, yelling at the top of her lungs and plunging her weapon into the stomach of one of the boys, taking and lifting him off of his feet and planting him on his ass, a gaping wound in his chest that poured blood. Withdrawing her sword from the teen who would soon become a carcass, Enu turned and swung like a rabid animal at the other two, liberating one of their hand and missing the last remaining member entirely. Rightfully, the two bolted and left their friend to perish, drowning in his own blood in a few agonizing moments. A passing beggar witnessed the encounter, and approached Rasa.

"Fourth Precept," The woman began, "Breathing is very important! Is the violent breath of life in you not hot? Exhale! Exult!" The words were strange to Rasa, who had raised her blade to protect herself from this interloper. "Second Precept, Your stance must be wide. You must not be spare with the fluidity of your wrists or shoulders. You must have grip on the handle that is loose and unstrained. I heard it said you must be tender with your sword grip, as though with a lover. This is patently false. A sword is not your lover. It is a hideous tool for separating men from their vital fluids." Enu lowered her sword slightly and loosened her grip, finding it more comfortable holding the weapon without her rigid clasp. The beggar smiled slightly, and turned to walk away from the scene.

"When you are of sound mind and body, find me the Rakshata Wilderness. I will teach you how to use that despicable instrument to annihilate Gods." When the beggar had left entirely, Enu Rasa remained with the dead body for a time, pondering on what to do. She figured she must train and prepare herself, but first needed to leave the crime scene before her murder could be discovered. No one came for the boy, his murder was never investigated, his body was left to rot and be eaten by stray animals, such was the life of the downtrodden of Varum. For the next three years, Enu Rasa trained her body and practiced her weapon, stealing a few books and manuals on how to properly use a blade, as well as how to condition your body. She was unable to read at first, but slowly learned the meaning of the symbols that became letters and eventually words, sentences, and such.

On the day of her thirteenth birthday, Enu arrived by merchant cart to the Rakshata Wilderness as instructed, running from the cart as she was unable to pay her fare. The merchant gave a yell and shouted curses, but dared not chase after an unruly teen girl into one of the most dangerous wildernesses on the continent. Though she seemed lost after a while, the girl had some idea of how to survive in harsh terrain from the manuals she had read. She brought nothing but her clothes and her sword, yet the large swathes of uncharted forest was quite the monster to behold, and how Enu planned to find the beggar woman in such a woodland maze was beyond her.

It crossed her mind several times that the beggar could have been like her mom, shouting nonsense and bumbling like a fool, but she was determined to see this adventure through, and honestly, anything was better than the life she was leaving behind. Finding a small encampment of bandits and outlaws by chance, Enu Rasa walked into the lions' den with confidence, not overbearing, but enough to hold her own. Stared down by the outcasts of stable society and deserters from battle, Enu asked if there lived a master swordswoman in the expansive wilderness.

"Au Vidal." One highwayman replied, "She lives in a hut several miles upstream, swinging her blade at imaginary foes, eating bugs and drinking water directly from the river. I would call her insane," He explained, showing a grave and serious look on his scarred and battle-born face, "But I have personally seen her battle ten thousand men completely naked. Except her sword, of course." Enu thanked the man for the directions and promptly exited the camp in the direction of the river he had mentioned, finding it after a few minutes travel, and then spending the rest of the afternoon travelling upstream to find the lonely hut of Au Vidal, Sword Saint.

Her first glimpse of her new master was that of a stark nude woman holding a straight sword in knee-deep water, staring off in the distance for some time. Rather than interrupt, Enu stayed by the waters' edge and observed, watching as Au folded her arm up and swung it down rapidly, a white aura encasing her blade, her strike reaching out and splitting the water between herself and the shore, slicing apart even the small rocks on the shoreline. Letting out a gasp, Au was alerted to Enu's presence, and stared at the teen. "I hope that by following my instruction, you will be thoroughly encouraged to become a farmer." Au stated, "Strip nude and enter the water. Training begins now."

Without hesitation, Enu did as she was told, and so began her journey into a living hell. For the first week and one day, she was starved, unable to eat a single bite of food and only able to drink, breath, and train - Sleep would fall somewhere in between. At the end of that fast, her mind was of sufficient state to learn the true meaning of swordsmanship, Au explaining to a barely conscious Enu that all she had learned in her studies was for peasants and amateur soldiers. With her real training beginning after her fast, Enu followed a vegetarian diet, barefoot sprints from the edge of the forest and back, squats and breathing exercises, and sword drills and resistance training.

By aged sixteen, Enu's body was a steel edifice, she could run from the forest edge and back to the river without straining her breath, she could break stones with her fists with little effort, and had virtually mastered the sword. Au Vidal was pleased with the progress her apprentice had made, and sent her to battle a true foe, giving her the mission to slay one of the giants living in the northern edge of the woods. It took a day and night for Enu to return, badly damaged, her sword was shattered into thirty pieces, her right leg was almost torn from its socket, and her honed body was broken pathetically in a hundred and forty places. When asked if she had succeeded, Enu nodded fiercely, explaining to her master that she had defeated him by gouging his brains out through his nostrils. "And what did that teach you, young apprentice?"

Glancing at her bloodied hands, "My thumbs were more useful than my sword." Enu stated. The normally stoic and hard-pressed master smiled with unrestrained glee, her student able to understand the futility of prolonged combat and was finally ready to learn the true art taught taught and mastered by Au Vidal, The Art of Cutting. Enu was taught the 18 Precepts of Sword Law administered by Au Vidal, which focused on the singular action of a sword cut and how it must be made fierce and unquestionable. There is to be no hesitation in action, as outlined in Precept 5: "You must strive for detachment when cutting. Your cut must be sticky and resolute. A weak, listless cut is a despicable thing. But you must also not cling to your action, or its result. Clinging is the great error of men. A man who strikes without thought of his action can cut the Gods."

It would take another few years for Enu Rasa to learn the Art of Cutting to a suitable degree, becoming a revered swordswoman in her own right. Her master would take her to watch the large battles and skirmishes at the borders of several kingdoms so that Enu could see for herself the combat only mortals are capable of, even the fierce tournaments in the royal and imperial capitals had them as spectators to watch how others fight so that the pair could learn more. Though they were master and student, Enu saw Au like a mother she had never had, and respected the Sword Saint for her endless wisdom.

At age twenty, Enu had already left her masters' quarters for several months out of the year to go on her own adventures, studying, and the like, finding work as a bodyguard for several nobles in that time and gaining some traction as a mercenary to make ends meet when it came to money, though, she often resorted to begging as she was accustomed to. As Enu returned to her master's hut, though, she found the place ransacked and burnt to a crisp some time before, Enu several weeks late to the act. With her master nowhere to be found, Enu took it upon herself to avenge her fallen teacher, and set off into the world to look for clues wherever she could, finding herself distracted along the way to take her mind away from losing her only mother figure.

Fighting Style: Swordswoman
Abilities:

• [The Art of Cutting]: (Insert description of ability here)
• [Insert Ability Here]: (Insert description of ability here)
  (Note, you do not have a maximum or minimum of 2 abilities. Include both your character’s mundane abilities and any magic they have. If you don’t need all those, delete them. If you need more, copy and paste.)

Limitations (Reasons why your char can’t singlehandedly conquer a kingdom):

• (Insert Limitation)
• (Insert Limitation)
  (Note, you do not have a maximum or minimum of 2 limitations. If you don’t need all those, delete them. If you need more, copy and paste.)

Equipment:

• [Insert Equipment]
• [Insert Equipment]
  (Note, you do not have a maximum or minimum of 2 equipment. If you don’t need all those, delete them. If you need more, copy and paste. If it is a special piece of equipment please include a description. Also keep in mind your character’s background and what sort of wealth they would have as this greatly influences your starting equipment)

Optional Questionnaire
Personal Quest:
Favorite Factions:
Least Favorite Factions:
Favorite Memory:
Goals:
Greatest Fear:
Religion:

Reach heaven through violence.

Although I appreciate the reference, I don't think transplanting Maya ten Meti essentially 1-to-1 into this setting works perfectly. For example, I think the idea of Au defeating 10,000 men naked makes less sense in this more down-to-earth setting than it did for Meti in the intentionally-over-the-top setting of KSBD.

I'm not OP, though, so ultimately my opinion isn't particularly relevant.