Mana Chronicles: The Tournament War (OOC/Sign-ups;)[Open]

[Kingdom of Irhk]

Can someone hmu with dat tasty discord link please?

Will send it through TG.

[Vadterland]

Tagging for interest.

[Saleon]

Tagging for interest.

owo

welcome, fresh meat!

EDIT: Oh, and I might as well tell you, before you do it. There are too few apps for characters attached to the main houses.

Chrome has stated they want 1 app attached to a main house (per person) before she considers letting someone make their own original house. For now. (with some exceptions, ask chrome about those)

[Nea Videssos]

Character Application
Name: Alexis Eugen Jaroslaw von Ungern-Sternberg
Age: 16
Gender: Male
Appearance: With silky, long, strawberry blonde hair, sky-blue eyes, and a slender, feminine physique, one could be forgiven for believing Alexis to be a beautiful young girl. It can be said that he certainly cuts noticeable figure. Behind this countenance lies great ambition, ego, aristocratic pride and feral cunning. In both voice and appearance he resembles a girl, and his particular choices of clothing do little to dispel such a misconception. His taste in clothing varies considerably, from a military uniform-esque frilled dress, to the elaborate regalia of a noblewoman, or more conventional clothing. His accent bears influences from Swedish, Estonian, Russian and German sources, revealing the varied origins of the company he grew up with. His father, Heinrich sometimes remarked that Alexis has his mother's blonde hair, and his grandmother's oriental, diminutive physique. At 4'9", he isn't exactly tall by most standards, and with his frame, he weighs fairly little. See the separate posts below for the image gallery (part 1 and part 2).
Height: 145 cm|4'9"
Weight: 85lb|39kg
Element: Firestorm: Venta and Ignis. Combining Fire magic and Wind/Air magic, or using them individually, he can use Venta's agility-enhancing, construct-generating and offensive capabilities, and Ignis' destructive abilities. This includes magic manipulating electricity and plasma, and utilising wind and fire magic to create an explosive torrent of wind and flame. It can be considered quite flashy magic, at any rate. Alexis likes combining it with black magic to imitate Mahakala's black flames of dissolution.

For his age, and taking into account his subsequent lack of experience, Alexis is highly skilled in dark and black magic (including demon summoning and necromancy), as well as runic magic (using the Adalruna system of Johannes Bureus, and Galdr (the verbal version of Runic magic). He can also use seiðr (Norse shamanic magic) and a syncretic mix of Mongolian Yellow/Buddhist Shamanism (rather, the unusual Ungern interpretation of it) and Black/Tengriist Shamanism.
Personality:

To most he would seem kind, cheerful and generous, though somewhat eccentric, playful and mischievous. Whilst polite, he can be sarcastic and prone to somewhat dark humour. Arrogant, ruthless, obsessive, sadistic and not entirely what one would think of as mentally stable, he seems to have inherited the curse of the Ungern-Sternbergs. Having adopted a degree of the Mad Baron's philosophy and beliefs, he merges a form of Orthodox Christianity, Buddhist-Mongol beliefs with Swedish/Germanic Runic esotericism, paganism and assorted other traditions, and the remnants of an aristocratic outlook mostly wiped out in the 20th century. He firmly believes monarchy to be the superior political system - the only system capable of saving human civilization from chaos, and it is even better, if merged with the esoteric beliefs his family embraced around a century ago.

Outwardly, he adjusts his personality to suit the situation, donning a façade that varies in nature depending on the circumstances. He can often be seen smiling faintly, often for no obvious reason, and perhaps to the extent that Alexis himself can no longer tell whether it is genuine or not. Similarly, he has probably forgotten to what extent his mindset is his own, and to what extent it is an attempt to emulate his revered grandfather.

Sometimes his pride is hidden behind false humility. He tends to come across as well-composed, with a sort of quiet, understated dignity not out of the ordinary among nobility. Despite his aptitude for deception and manipulation, it is, of course, possible to shatter that shell and catch him off guard. If one were to do so, his usual confidence might shatter, and he would struggle to recover his wits. He can sometimes seem arbitrary in his decision making. Unlike his grandfather, Alexis is concerned with appearances, and definitely has something of an ego. He sometimes uses technicalities and conveniently-worded phrases to deceive others. It's natural for him to use other people, figuring out what they want to hear and using it to manipulate them. He can be a bit of a troublemaker, to put it one way. He also comes off as brave and confident to the point of fearlessness, though even that has its limits.

If one gets a firmly worded, honest promise from him, he has enough integrity not to break it. Of course, he's not one to make such promises easily. In spite of his faults, he does have his own morals. He can show kindness, though more often than not he'd personally excuse such an act as something done to maintain his masquerade. He does, however care for his family and looks out for their best interests. He is generally regarded as a bit eccentric and whimsical, though dedicated and talented at what he does. Whilst usually not outright claiming to be a girl, he never makes it particularly obvious that he's male, either.

He also possesses a certain narcissism earned by the appearance most often described as being that of a beautiful young girl, with a certain grace to match. Combined with his height and an apparent childishness at times, it is not an uncommon occurrence for people to mistake him as such. While he evidently enjoys attention and praise, he does sometimes find it annoying when some people treat him as younger than he actually is, or make comments about his height. Alexis knows he's good looking, and may use it to his advantage, also teasing others or leading them on. He pretends to be a bit worldlier than he actually is, and may become embarrassed or flustered when pressed enough by the romantic endeavours of others, if they manage to get past his outward persona.

Fairly intelligent, he tends to perform well academically, though he's better when it comes to history and literature than maths and science. When it comes to things he finds interesting, he can be quite a voracious devourer of knowledge. In spite of this, however, his ego can be more trouble than the drive it brings him; it can lead to him underestimating others and overestimating his own ability and chances of victory. Likewise, those observant and adept enough to do so, can in turn manipulate him by virtue of his own arrogance and narcissism. Whilst he usually dons a veneer of civility and amiability against those who would insult or hurt him, and he likes to think such things leave him completely unruffled, it does impact him. He may begrudgingly take it to heart, or redirect it into a quiet, brooding spite waiting to erupt against those who did him wrong. Of course, negative feelings bottled up are bound to erupt sooner or later, and similarly bound to influence his state of mind, consciously or subconsciously. He can be envious, fearful and even obsessive when it comes to those stronger and more powerful than him, wishing to grow stronger than them.

If defeated or forced into a situation where his defeat is inevitable, he can become remarkably unstable, be it murderous or afraid. Just as much, he can view those weaker than himself and unaffiliated to the same causes as himself, as little more than tools at best, or insects at worst. Of course, even an insect could be reborn as a higher existence in its next life. As much as that philosophy helps shape his mindset, he is not completely without empathy or the ability to bond with others, and given time, someone might be able to earn his affections. Given his nature, it might be a little more than they bargained for. He could be a bit yandere in the right circumstances.

He is the sort that is obedient to those he serves, be it family, or more abstract causes, though he has some tendencies that might be considered devilish and a bloodthirsty, unhinged intensity in battle. His bloodlust in battle is matched with a certain chaotic streak within him, an excitable joy that wells up within him in battle, accompanied by sadism and masochism alike. When it comes to matters of life and death seems to have experience that belies his age.

Malleable as his outward personality might be, it is not entirely without patterns, and if perceptive enough, one can find a way to grasp the essence of who he is. Fiercely protective of his own independence and power (though he may be willing to temporarily bide his time in certain situations, and he is willing to follow the right people or causes, particularly strong individuals or powerful factions that share the ideals of the Ungerns), he dislikes being used by others, and fears winding up in a situation of powerlessness. Behind his fierceness, is fragility. If there would be anything required to truly break him, it would be for him to be rendered powerless, and to have all that he holds dear taken from him or kept out of reach. His true frailty would reveal itself. At the same time, part of him would become masochistic and self-destructive, believing that as an inferior being, the only meaningful thing left would be to seek rebirth into something superior, and to be killed by a greater entity than himself in his current life. At the same time, he fears disappearing into nothingness, should that be what awaits him. A sense of superiority and inferiority are two sides of the same coin, and so it is with him. A sense of envy, and a fear of being less than, or beneath others, lies behind what might be considered a delusion of superiority and grandeur.

Whoever manages to get past the complex web of lies, arrogance and deceit, and manages to form a proper, positive relationship with him, would also find a certain dependability and dedication when it came down to it. Occasionally he seems genuinely kind, possessing an odd serenity, and a calm acceptance of all that happens to him. He also tends to act more humbly and respectful towards members of his family, and to an extent, their vassals, subordinates and allies. Behind all the facades, there is an honest, kind side to him, mixed with the ruthlessness, fear, desire and delusion.

Likes: Classical music, folk music, metal, crossdressing, animals, travelling, perfecting his magic, learning languages, yellow/gold, red, dark blue, purple, studying history, overcoming challenges, figuring other people out, reading, fighting, war, wreaking havoc upon his enemies, challenges, eastern cultures, cats, dogs, wolves, ravens, foxes, archery, horse-riding (he also has a favourite white horse, perhaps a nod towards his grandfather's white horse and the prophecies the Mongols associated with him), singing, traditional art and architecture, tea, chocolate, peaches, cherries, grapes, nature, the occult, philosophy, warfare, gathering rare or precious artifacts, an obscure interpretation of Buddhism, Christianity and paganism. Monarchism and aristocratic traditions. The works of Julius Evola, Alexander Dugin, Guido von List, Thomas Karlsson, Savitri Devi, Ernst Junger, Anthony Ludovici, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Heidegger, Joseph Campbell, Spengler, Haushofer, Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn, Dostoyevsky, Machiavelli, Clauswitz, de Jomini, Moltke and certain other individuals. Some interest in Theosophical writings (e.g. Blavatsky, Leadbeater and others) and the work of Gurdjieff (and by extension his followers, Bennett, Ouspensky and Collin). Thomas Alexandrovich de Hartmann's piano music (de Hartmann transcribed and co-wrote much of the music that Gurdjieff collected and used for his movements exercises), Prokofiev, Rimsky-Korsakov, Liszt, Handel and various others. Beauty, whether it belongs to a person, art, whatever, so long as something is aesthetically pleasing, that will certainly draw him in. The affections, desires and attention of others. Learning about ancient esoteric traditions. Reading about his grandfather. Natascha von Ungern-Sternberg (admiration for her talent and ability as a mage). Other stuff.
Dislikes: Naivete, insults, being ignored, boring people, being subordinated to others he considers unworthy, commoners rising above their station, modern "art" and "architecture," failure, traitors, socialism, republicanism, communism (rather than a mere political ideology, it is regarded as "a sect of murderers of all contemporary spiritual culture"), democracy, the Inquisition, the Abusus Ordinis in Virtue, pop music, coconuts, pears, overly bright/garish variants of colours, materialistic mass-market consumer culture, atheism, ugliness, revolutions ("evolution leads to the Divinity, and revolution to bestiality" as his grandfather once said). Natascha von Ungern-Sternberg (envy and the desire to rise past her as a mage). Being underestimated, being treated like a child/not taken seriously, receiving disparaging comments about his height. Other stuff.
Goals: To paraphrase the words of the Mad Baron, "Only evolution leads to divine truth; I am that process." To put it simply, he has lofty goals that involve nothing less than the pursuit of perfection, and of the highest power, knowledge and wisdom. Everything other than himself is a means to an end, and it does not matter if that path is paved in blood. It might even be better that way. He seeks evolution to a perfect state of being, and part of that philosophy is a twisted form of Buddhism that seems akin to a mockery of the Buddha's selfless, compassionate asceticism. Helping other living beings on a path to spiritual evolution is likewise, twisted. Those who fall in his path will be reborn in the next life as a superior being (in that manner, it can be seen as doing them a favour; if they were unable to protect themselves, it meant they were feeble and living under poor Karma. By dying in a state of innocence, they improved their position on the rungs of the cosmos). A lofty goal akin to that held by the Baron and his men long ago, was to sweep aside this rotten world, corrupted by greed, hatred and cruelty, and to forge an empire that is capable of doing so. "To organise an army as powerful as that of Genghis Khan, and move as that great man did, and smash the whole of Europe. The world must die so that a new and better world may come forth, reincarnated on a higher plane". So spoke Nikolay Chernov, one of Ungern's officers, as later recounted by Dmitri Alioshin. Another goal would be to find an entrance to Agharti/Agartha (Shambhala), the sacred hidden realm where the King of the World lies, along with great knowledge and power. He also seeks to empower his family, as a general goal, and obtains information and influence from other families. He wants to surpass his older sister as a mage, and to be acknowledged by others. Alexis also wants to become as good at fighting and commanding as his grandfather once was, and perhaps to attain fame and prestige on a similar level to him. Also learn magic that in the long run, will allow him to retain his good looks and avoid aging.
Alignment: Supports his own family, for obvious reasons. By extension, house Rise.
Animal companion or familiar: A Valravn, or raven of the slain, is a shapeshifting demonic creature with several forms. One is that of a raven with blood-red eyes (or a swarm of ravens), another is a strange mixture of wolf and raven, and the last form is that of a cursed knight. They are said to eat the hearts of the dead, particularly kings, nobles and chieftains whose bodies were left on the battlefield and not yet buried. Another legend says that they drink the blood of children and take their hearts (this grants them the ability to transform into a knight, and to move in daytime). They can also use dark magic, illusions, and possess human-level intelligence, with the ability to form contracts with a chosen mortal. They are feared as terrible animals, yet in some legends they protected the lands, or served human kings as knights, hiding their true nature. This particular one goes by the name of Herleifr.

Bio: See this document.
Theme: Amorphis - I of Crimson Blood or maybe Nine Treasures - Wisdom Eyes. Nine Treasures - Galloping White Horse or possibly some other songs by Amorphis. Or perhaps Therion (for more occult/esoteric themes in symphonic metal).


House Application

Name: House von Ungern-Sternberg
Age: Exact age is unknown, with the early centuries of the family being long-lost to the ages. They go back around thousand years, in some form or another. One of the earliest identified Ungerns was Hans von Ungern, killed outside Jerusalem during the Crusades, fighting under Richard the Lionheart. Indeed, they were deeply involved in the crusades. Even the tragic Crusade of the Children was marked by the death of Ralph Ungern, eleven years old. According to one genealogy, the first Ungern was the son of a 12th century Russian prince, Vladimir II Yaroslavich of the Rurik dynasty. However, the earlier one goes with attempts to document the heritage of the family, and taking into account various legends and surviving anecdotes of the family's history, one finds some contradictions. In some cases there are differing accounts and dates, and in some cases the relevant information is either missing (perhaps lost or destroyed) or simply nonexistent. Earlier ancestors are potentially from dubious, pseudo-historical sources. Sometimes medieval chroniclers working for nobility were prone to genealogical flights of fancy, for instance the Lithuanian Gediminid dynasty according to the Bychowiec Chronicle, was said to descend from the Palemonids, who in turn descended from Palemon, a 5th-century noble from the Roman Empire, though in earlier version he was 1st century, and a relative of the Emperor Nero, while a later attempt to again revise the chronicle placed him in the 10th century, as various Lithuanian or Polish historians attempted to deal with more obvious historical inaccuracies, and attempted to make it sound more believable while patching up mistakes from earlier editions (one glaring issue concerned was a shortage of generations mentioned in the chronicle when trying to cover the gap between the 1st century when Palemon arrived and the 14th century when Gediminas died).
Size: 50 mages of varying strength, some from the Swedish branch of the family, some from the Finnish branch, and the remaining from the remnants of the Estonian/Austrian/Russian branch (the Prussian branch was more or less wiped out in WW2, and the remaining survivors scattered elsewhere). This includes some from more distant surviving elements of the family that rejoined the main family during the turmoil of the 20th century. There are various subbranches of the Estonian Ungerns, but to include the various lines (some extinct, some surviving) would inevitably end up including various lines that are not mages, or are so distant as to be effectively independent and separate.
Hierarchy: The current head is Heinrich Gustav Sigismund von Ungern-Sternberg (Russian: Genrikh Romanovich fon Ungern-Shternberg). Although Heinrich is rather old, at 97 years of age, he seems half his age, looking to be around his 40s or 50s. The most capable of the head's children (or his siblings) is usually chosen (at the head's discretion, though other family members can influence the decision), rather than the more old fashioned Agnatic-Cognatic Primogeniture. While aristocratic traditions are seen as important, the family also acknowledges practicality, and also recalls certain tenets of Tengriism; that harmful traditions can be changed ("Tribal customs can be changed if they are harmful to people, which is why Genghis Khan did away with many previous customs in order to ensure orderly government"). Generally though, the hierarchy of the house is set up in the manner of traditional aristocracy, with some militaristic elements on account of the family's rather martial history. A memento of the early 20th century is that the head of the house bears the hereditary high title Darkhan Khoshoi Chin Wang in the degree of Khan, as once given by the Bogd Khan to a certain Ungern. There are some more old fashioned types among the family, but the currently dominant family line is Roman von Ungern-Sternberg's branch of the family.
Vassals or subordinate organizations Several families of varying size are vassals. The houses von Liebenfels, von Sebottendorff, Gripenstedt, Berencreutz, Klingspor, Rydingsvärd, von Schönberg, Haxthausen, Berregaard, von Jungingen, von Wetzhausen, von Erlichshausen, von Uexküll, von Rosen, von Tiesenhausen, von der Osten-Sacken, von Patkul, von Lieven, Derugin, Engalychev, von Rennenkampff, von Keyserling, von Hoyningen-Huene, von Harpe, von Stackelberg, Sharistanov, Vyshnevetsky, Burdukovsky, Togoruutan, Zaisanguud, Jarangiinkhan and Khandgai (the last four are Mongol families who worship Roman von Ungern-Sternberg as a deity and came to serve his family from the early 20th century onwards). A fairly multicultural collection, to say the least, with Germans (some of the Baltic variety), Swedes, Danes, Russians, Cossacks and Mongols among their numbers. Some, such as the Jungingens, Wetzhausens and Erlichshausens, were fellow members of the Teutonic Order centuries ago. The von Uexküll, von Rosen, von Tiesenhausen families, along with the Ungerns, were known as the "four of the united/gathered hand" (French wiki google translate is probably off, so human translation is probably best), and along with the von der Osten-Sacken, von Patkul, and von Lieven families made up the oldest and most powerful Baltic nobility. Politically, the Ungerns have influence among monarchists and ultranationalists in Sweden, Finland, and the Baltic (and to a certain extent in western Russia and Denmark). The Eurasia Party of Russia idolises the most famous of the Ungerns. Of course, the Ungerns use the nationalists despite their decidedly aristocratic/monarchist approach, since the nationalists tend to be the next closest, in opposition to the mainstream political ideologies (and oppose liberals/progressives, mainstream conservatives, communists and capitalists among others). On a side note, they have allies among the von Reitzensteins in Germany, Gantimurovs in Russia and the Hatakeyama family in Japan.
Goals: A dark and complicated family who saw Roman von Ungern-Sternberg as an admirable figure rather than the black sheep of the family, they are ruthless, with a certain blood-thirst considered the "curse" of their family. They desire to gradually reach a level of power that will let them do world-changing deeds, and to lead a great army to sweep over Eurasia, establishing an empire with their monarchist, esoteric, militant syncretic Christian-Buddhist ideals, with which to usher in a new age, destroying the world so that it is reborn on a higher realm. Also find an entrance to Agharti/Agartha/Shambhala. Find the burial place of Roman von Ungern-Sternberg (he was recorded as having been executed by a Bolshevik firing squad in Novosibirsk, and what happened to his remains is unknown). There are also rumours that his spirit still hangs around his old castle, while some Mongols believed that he could not be killed, as he was invincible to the bullets of the Bolsheviks, and still venerated his image in their temples. There was also a legend that he fled and went to a Buddhist monastery. Whether or not he truly survived, and what fate really befell him, remains a mystery to be investigated, though the most likely result is that he died. Perhaps he continues to walk the world, perhaps he has ascended, or perhaps his bones lie buried beneath the cold soil of Siberia. A subsidiary goal to this would be to find the remains of the baron's loyal followers that died in Mongolia, and use necromancy to bring them back. Help Rise. Some other goals too.
Seat of power or Headquarters: Stora Sundby Castle, Södermanland, Sweden and Dago/Hiiumaa, Estonia. Formerly their centre of power was in Estonia and Latvia, where they had many manors, castles and palaces (one particular seat of theirs was the island of Dago/Hiiumaa, though they were also present in the larger island to the south, Saaremaa). Remnants of their influence can be seen throughout those countries, including in the former Ungern-Sternberg Palace, now the Estonian Academy of Sciences in Tallinn, built in the time of Count Ewald Alexander Andreas von Ungern-Sternberg (1824-1899), who simultaneously owned the manors of Suuremõisa (Großenhof), Kärdla (Kertel), Soonlepa (Soonlep), Partsi (Pardas), Vilivalla (Williwalla), Randvere (Randfer), Võnnu (Wenden), Ungru (Linden), Võnnu (Wenden), Jõesse (Jesse), Keskvere (Keskfer), Kõrgessaare (Hohenholm), Lauka (Lauk) and Reigi (Roicks). Following the fall of the USSR, they have reestablished power and influence in the Baltic, and now alternate between Sweden and Estonia, with their centre of power in Estonia once again being Hiiumaa.
Territory of influence: Mainly Sweden, Finland and Baltic areas, though they still have pockets of influence elsewhere, such as in Germany, and once had some power in Austria and Hungary. In recent years, they have sought to regain the influence they had in Russia.
Short History: See this document.
Current state and Activities: Currently not quite what they once were, especially after the Soviet takeover of Russia purged most of their power there, and their Prussian branch was almost completely slaughtered during the war. In the aftermath of 1945, they had also lost their remaining possessions in East Prussia, East Germany and the Baltic. In spite of this, they are not to be trifled with. They are currently watching events unfold, and trying to reassert some of their power in old areas of influence, particularly the Baltic and western Russia. They are gradually working to expand their influence and power (and by extension Rise's power) while destroying or weakening the enemies of Rise/them. Politically, they tend to be connected to nationalists and traditionalists (and movements opposing mainstream democracy, liberals, modern conservatives and communists). They also have a positive view of Alexander Dugin's Eurasian geopolitical ideas (to a certain extent), and thus favour the current Russian government and its allies (though the Ungerns probably have the desire to usurp and gradually push the movement to be more closely aligned with their Militant-Buddhist esoteric/monarchist ideals - at some a restoration of monarchy would be a key part of their goal) Dugin's influence in Russian military circles is undeniable, and Russian Eurasianists admiration for Roman von Ungern-Sternberg is also undeniable. Of course, they view nationalists and fascists as merely a means to a greater end. They also happen to be quite keen on finding items that formerly belonged to the Baron. For instance, they acquired his enchanted pistol, an ornately decorated Mauser given to him by the Bogd Khan, which at some point ended up in a Mongolian Buddhist monastery.

Heraldry:

[Nea Videssos]

[Nea Videssos]

[The Imperial Warglorian Empire]

Tag, so are firearms banned?

[Luminesa]

Tag, so are firearms banned?

Well this is a mostly-magic RP, so probably it’s discouraged, unless they’re Magic. Make an App and we’ll see.

[Chrome Legion]

Tag, so are firearms banned?

Nope, not at all.

[Saleon]

Tag, so are firearms banned?

Well this is a mostly-magic RP, so probably it’s discouraged, unless they’re Magic. Make an App and we’ll see.

Tag, so are firearms banned?

Nope, not at all.

so says the OP and CoOP