Silence Sei
01-29-15, 10:57 PM
Selana gifted her most beloved children with memory.
Of all the stars, the youngest sought to preserve forever all the joys and trials of the Darthirii that they might learn and grow from them. But the blessing became corrupted with time, as all things do.
Tales of man and demigod alike searching for power the world over riddle the pages of Althanas history. Among these, not the least known are the Forgotten Ones, who for an Age waged horrific war over the Land and twisted it with their malefic designs.
Podë, the Red Witch, turned her gaze on the lush and beautiful forest, Belegwain I Beleg. With her dark magics, she perverted the land and cursed the trees themselves, until even the sentient life within became twisted and evil. Forever scarred, Lindequalmë stands silent testament to both the might of magic, and the evil in mortal hearts...
Outskirts of the Red Forest, on the Day of Burning
It was not warm. The sunlight that battered them offered no solace from the chill that hung on the forest's breath.a host of Raiaera's finest, brilliant gold and crimson armors laced with silver steel that reminded them of their downtrodden former glory. Their camp stood a kilometer north of the tainted trees, well within sight of what was once their wonder to boast.
"Have the druids prepared their rites of cleansing?" the fair, lithe High Elven woman asked, red lips pursed impatiently. In the past months, Alerar had put immense pressure on their cousins to the South with success after success in the alchemic and technological fields, rendering magic an afterthought to the new Enlightenment. Science reigned seemingly supreme, and in a time of economic decline in Raiaera, that only meant more suffering for the firstborn children.
Few still came to her shores in hopes of seeking the secrets of the Tap. Spellsinging was slowly becoming an exclusively elven venture, and so few still sought after their skill in smithing, now that Corone kept such a tight hold on the trade lanes. If they hoped to retain any of their former relevance, the people of Raiaera had to fight for it.
The High Bard Council had convened, and they spoke with a single, unified voice.
Alerya stood at the flap of her tent, breath caught in her throat as the Archdruid Variel gave quiet answer. "The rites are prepared, Lady Wrathsong," the wizened elf smiled up through the wrinkles of age; the considerably younger elf imagined that he might look like all the rings in Raiaera's eldest trees, were they ever cut down. "But we dare not enter that place too quickly."
"It was ours once," Alerya whispered, "it shall be again."
"Patience, young one," Variel hunched over his cane as he ambled to a place beside her. Together they looked upon their singular enemy with a daunting task before them. "This is a battle that will be long fought and bloodily won." His lips turned into a slight frown, "regardless of which force prevails."
"Do you think she sees us?" the red headed ranger drawled, musings of ancient evil heavy in her mind. "Do you think even now that Podë waits?"
"She ever waits, child," he acknowledged in a sad voice, "every attempt we have made to secure even a copse of trees, we have paid for in lives."
"What makes you certain that this time will be different?" Alerya had not lived half the life her elder had; his memory spanned back eons, almost to the days when the forest was lush. He remembered stories she had only heard in song. His faith in this venture was all that kept her from calling it a fool's errand. So, she looked to him for her courage, because she could conjure none.
"Why," Variel chuckled, but his laughter turned to coughs quickly. The girl placed a hand on his shoulder in concern, but he offered her a smile. "This time, we no longer believe ourselves untouchable, Alerya," he managed a much softer smile, "in ages past, our people believed themselves infallible and mighty. Now, we extend the olive branch to beings we once deemed lesser, and the bonds of friendship have taught us lessons more potent than any magic of the Tap."
"You place so much stock in such frail things," she chided, but inwardly, Alerya hoped that he was right.
"Look at them," the Archdruid waved a hand across the plains, where powerful spellcasters and forestral sages alike drew upon the earth and fragments of the Tap to seep themselves in wards and steel their allies against malign power. Crackling embers of flame hopped from open palms and formed djinns of pure flame, efreets that danced around their masters with ethereal joy. "They are the brightest hope our nation has. For a better future, for all our people."
The earth trembled as rocks ripped upward through dirt and streams of water cascaded down them. A blonde haired elven woman sang at the spring, and light trickled down and caressed the waters with gentle warmth. Powers not married for a hundred lifetimes now converged once more.
Alerya smiled over at her great, great, great grandfather and shook her head. "Well," she acknowledged, "it is a cause worth bleeding for. Let us hope that our allies are equal to the task."
Variel bowed his head, but the redhead thought she heard a soft snore. "Rest well, old man," she whispered, "I pray that you live to see this curse undone."
On this day, the people of Raiaera would fight back at last.
Welcome to the 2015 Adventurer's Crown Registration! This is a quest tournament where we start with 32 characters, randomly paired off, and eventually make it down to 4! The rules are pretty simple!
(1) We will provide a very loose prompt for you to follow at the start of the round. Every team will have the same prompt, but the actual arena creation is up to you! Get with your team mates and make some magic happen!
(2) The initial posting order is how you shall continue the thread, with a 24 hour time limit to post from the last post. If one of your members does not make the deadline, they are disqualified. If all members of a team do not make the deadline, they are eliminated from the tournament. You will however be granted an additional 24 hours if one of your team members is disqualified.
(3) Out of the eight teams that enter, only the four with the highest scores will advance to the Semi-finals, where the teams of 4 become teams of 2. The two highest scoring teams will each advance to the finals, where the finalists will each provide a solo to determine the placement and awards. You will not be placed with the same person twice.
(4) There will be a two week judging time limit to allow the judge(s) to get the threads done. Please be patient in that time.
(5) To register, all you have to simply do is post 'Register' below. As of now, we will only accept 32 participants. Afterwards, we will provide a wait list, and if enough interest is garnered on said list, we may extend the tournament to an extra round. This will also allow us to have a replacement should someone decide to drop out before the tournament officially starts.
(6) Registration ends Febuary 8th, and the tournament will officially begin on the 15th, midnight, Centray Standard Time.
(7) Have fun!
Of all the stars, the youngest sought to preserve forever all the joys and trials of the Darthirii that they might learn and grow from them. But the blessing became corrupted with time, as all things do.
Tales of man and demigod alike searching for power the world over riddle the pages of Althanas history. Among these, not the least known are the Forgotten Ones, who for an Age waged horrific war over the Land and twisted it with their malefic designs.
Podë, the Red Witch, turned her gaze on the lush and beautiful forest, Belegwain I Beleg. With her dark magics, she perverted the land and cursed the trees themselves, until even the sentient life within became twisted and evil. Forever scarred, Lindequalmë stands silent testament to both the might of magic, and the evil in mortal hearts...
Outskirts of the Red Forest, on the Day of Burning
It was not warm. The sunlight that battered them offered no solace from the chill that hung on the forest's breath.a host of Raiaera's finest, brilliant gold and crimson armors laced with silver steel that reminded them of their downtrodden former glory. Their camp stood a kilometer north of the tainted trees, well within sight of what was once their wonder to boast.
"Have the druids prepared their rites of cleansing?" the fair, lithe High Elven woman asked, red lips pursed impatiently. In the past months, Alerar had put immense pressure on their cousins to the South with success after success in the alchemic and technological fields, rendering magic an afterthought to the new Enlightenment. Science reigned seemingly supreme, and in a time of economic decline in Raiaera, that only meant more suffering for the firstborn children.
Few still came to her shores in hopes of seeking the secrets of the Tap. Spellsinging was slowly becoming an exclusively elven venture, and so few still sought after their skill in smithing, now that Corone kept such a tight hold on the trade lanes. If they hoped to retain any of their former relevance, the people of Raiaera had to fight for it.
The High Bard Council had convened, and they spoke with a single, unified voice.
Alerya stood at the flap of her tent, breath caught in her throat as the Archdruid Variel gave quiet answer. "The rites are prepared, Lady Wrathsong," the wizened elf smiled up through the wrinkles of age; the considerably younger elf imagined that he might look like all the rings in Raiaera's eldest trees, were they ever cut down. "But we dare not enter that place too quickly."
"It was ours once," Alerya whispered, "it shall be again."
"Patience, young one," Variel hunched over his cane as he ambled to a place beside her. Together they looked upon their singular enemy with a daunting task before them. "This is a battle that will be long fought and bloodily won." His lips turned into a slight frown, "regardless of which force prevails."
"Do you think she sees us?" the red headed ranger drawled, musings of ancient evil heavy in her mind. "Do you think even now that Podë waits?"
"She ever waits, child," he acknowledged in a sad voice, "every attempt we have made to secure even a copse of trees, we have paid for in lives."
"What makes you certain that this time will be different?" Alerya had not lived half the life her elder had; his memory spanned back eons, almost to the days when the forest was lush. He remembered stories she had only heard in song. His faith in this venture was all that kept her from calling it a fool's errand. So, she looked to him for her courage, because she could conjure none.
"Why," Variel chuckled, but his laughter turned to coughs quickly. The girl placed a hand on his shoulder in concern, but he offered her a smile. "This time, we no longer believe ourselves untouchable, Alerya," he managed a much softer smile, "in ages past, our people believed themselves infallible and mighty. Now, we extend the olive branch to beings we once deemed lesser, and the bonds of friendship have taught us lessons more potent than any magic of the Tap."
"You place so much stock in such frail things," she chided, but inwardly, Alerya hoped that he was right.
"Look at them," the Archdruid waved a hand across the plains, where powerful spellcasters and forestral sages alike drew upon the earth and fragments of the Tap to seep themselves in wards and steel their allies against malign power. Crackling embers of flame hopped from open palms and formed djinns of pure flame, efreets that danced around their masters with ethereal joy. "They are the brightest hope our nation has. For a better future, for all our people."
The earth trembled as rocks ripped upward through dirt and streams of water cascaded down them. A blonde haired elven woman sang at the spring, and light trickled down and caressed the waters with gentle warmth. Powers not married for a hundred lifetimes now converged once more.
Alerya smiled over at her great, great, great grandfather and shook her head. "Well," she acknowledged, "it is a cause worth bleeding for. Let us hope that our allies are equal to the task."
Variel bowed his head, but the redhead thought she heard a soft snore. "Rest well, old man," she whispered, "I pray that you live to see this curse undone."
On this day, the people of Raiaera would fight back at last.
Welcome to the 2015 Adventurer's Crown Registration! This is a quest tournament where we start with 32 characters, randomly paired off, and eventually make it down to 4! The rules are pretty simple!
(1) We will provide a very loose prompt for you to follow at the start of the round. Every team will have the same prompt, but the actual arena creation is up to you! Get with your team mates and make some magic happen!
(2) The initial posting order is how you shall continue the thread, with a 24 hour time limit to post from the last post. If one of your members does not make the deadline, they are disqualified. If all members of a team do not make the deadline, they are eliminated from the tournament. You will however be granted an additional 24 hours if one of your team members is disqualified.
(3) Out of the eight teams that enter, only the four with the highest scores will advance to the Semi-finals, where the teams of 4 become teams of 2. The two highest scoring teams will each advance to the finals, where the finalists will each provide a solo to determine the placement and awards. You will not be placed with the same person twice.
(4) There will be a two week judging time limit to allow the judge(s) to get the threads done. Please be patient in that time.
(5) To register, all you have to simply do is post 'Register' below. As of now, we will only accept 32 participants. Afterwards, we will provide a wait list, and if enough interest is garnered on said list, we may extend the tournament to an extra round. This will also allow us to have a replacement should someone decide to drop out before the tournament officially starts.
(6) Registration ends Febuary 8th, and the tournament will officially begin on the 15th, midnight, Centray Standard Time.
(7) Have fun!