Wisteria [Interest Check]

Lunar Origins · March 20, 2017

The cold winter's night nipped at the heels of the guardsman posted at the southern gate of the town of Vale. Guard duty here was mandatory; every male in the village was charged with protecting the walls from beasts and men alike every once in a while. Tonight was Rickert's first time guarding the wall, at the ripe age of sixteen. Barely old enough to be called a man, he was understandably nervous, despite the lack of activity past the walls in the Black Woods and beyond for nary his entire life. Even so, he couldn't shake this feeling of dread that nestled in the small of his neck. Every rustle of the snow pushing aside a leaf was noticed and made his hair stand on end; add that to the fact that he could barely see six feet in front of him with abundant torchlight around, one might feel easily sympathetic. Night time in Vale was almost always unsettling, for one reason or another. Just another normal night, though Rickert with a defeated sigh. Just like a night out with the boys.

Dawn soon began to break through the snowy canopy looming just around the edges of the hidden village, a welcome sight for the virgin guardsman. "...finally." he stated, as if to punctuate his shift. Another night over, another safe day. It was time for his much needed and well-earned rest. Rickert began to head back inside, climbing up a ladder left for him and hoisting himself over the edge, onto the inside of the wall - into safety.

Or so he thought.

Wisteria.

Witch hunters. Tongue takers. Silencers, the Will of God. Many different places have a name for the ancient, ever-present order, but very few are privy to proper knowledge regarding the order at all. Those who they take do not come back; those they silence never speak.

Faceless in all but motive, the hunters of Wisteria have but one charge; rid the land of 'witches' - immortal, lunatic creatures born of stress, hatred and desire from the souls of broken people.

Their word - their blades - are an absolute authority, and few dare question the order or its methods.

None else have been able to match their murderous efficiency - and none wish to try, lest they be consumed by the very despair that births witches in the first place.

Basic Rules

Hey there! Before you go about posting in my roleplay and making applications and whatnot, there are going to be a few rules you have to adhere to. By the authority vested as the creator of this roleplay, I reserve the right to fully enforce any of the following rules and punish those who fail to adhere to them, with punishments ranging from a strongly-worded report (lol) to a blacklist from any and all future roleplaying games I deign to develop - and both include a swift kick and a pat on the back for myself congratulating a job well done. By applying to my roleplay or posting in this thread, you agree to adhere to these rules unless said rule has been overridden by a moderator of the RP forum or a Super Moderator.

The Advanced Clause Must Be Followed. Further information regarding this can be found below.
You will strive to maintain perfect grammar in any and all IC posts in this roleplay.
Romance between characters is allowed. You will not, however, derail the RP with smut.
If a player is found to be 'godmodding' or 'metagaming', report it to a gamemaster (me). I will review your case and make a decision accordingly; a warning will be given to the offending parties.
I expect you to make posts promptly and often. Failure to participate will have my exercise my right to kick you from the roleplay.
To add to the above, I reserve the right to kill off any character and I will exercise this right during the roleplay. I will always inform a character's player beforehand, unless an aforementioned rule has been broken.

Advanced Clause And Further Expectations

As a participant in any YCM roleplay you are expected to follow both the site's rules and the advanced clause.

The Advanced Clause is as follows:

"a. All IC posts require at least 100 words, roughly 4 lines at standard formatting.

b. Posting in script format is forbidden.
c. Copy-pasting or “expying” characters without tailoring them to the new roleplay is forbidden."

As the host of this roleplay, these rules are what are to be considered the bare minimum for any roleplay on this website. However, I expect better from those I accept into this roleplay, and thusly the Advanced Clause has been amended to 300 words per post. If you cannot muster a way to write that much? Find inspiration. Find a way. It's not hard.

And yes, I will check.

The Story So Far...

You are a member of Wisteria, an elite squad of witch hunters. Specifically, you belong to a special operations squad known as "Amen", a squad with a rather colorful history in Wisteria. Once the most powerful and prestigious squad - one of the original Founding Three, in fact - Amen has since lost much of its glory after the old squad commander 'gave in' on her comrades, slaying a great majority of Amen and forcing a large bulk of Wisteria's other squads to lend a hand in putting her down.

Few original members of the squad remain. Now led by the husband of the deceased commander that gave in, Amen has been set to pursue smaller, lower stress missions in lieu of concern for his mental state.

As you are all new recruits, from places unknown, you have been assigned to Amen specifically because it only handles low-intensity missions, now. Your first call? To investigate the village of Vale.

MISC. INFORMATION

[spoiler=Terms]

Wisteria: Also known as witch-hunters, this is an elite group of assassins formed for the sole purpose of silencing and disposing of witches. The organization is rather secretive and its actions are usually overlooked by the law, but everyone knows its name and the weight it carries.
Witch: A being of magical power of any level. All witches require sustenance through feeding off of the blood of living things. All witches are immortal and have access to an array of specialized magics, usually related to the personality or experiences that a witch has had over their lifetime. Any living thing can become a witch, but it manifests more in humans than it does in animals.
Giving In: A term acknowledged by all witch hunters as the turning of a being into a witch. It is currently theorized that trauma and massive stress/feelings of hopelessness are what drive beings to 'give in' - though this is not always the case, as some instances of giving in can happen regardless of circumstances. In all reality, it is an extremely rare occurence for any one person to give in, and the odds may very well be less than one person to every five-hundred thousand.
Silence: To silence means to cut the tongue out of, thus stripping of all ability to speak. Doing this to a witch will strip them of the power to utilize their magic as well, as magic is spoke in incantations, thus rendering them as helpless as any other similar being. However, doing so will not strip them of their immortality - and more likely than not drive them utterly insane.
Bury: The most popular method of witch disposal, a witch would be taken captive and buried alive in the Big Grave, a huge tower located in the center of Witchhaven - the home of Wisteria's operations.
Hazel D'Cour: The very first witch, with power tantamount to a true god. Hazel was silenced by the founder of Wisteria, and her resting place marks the foundation of the Big Grave, where all witches are buried.
Domin D'Cour: The witch-hunter that silenced Hazel and founded Wisteria.
Exalted Zone (EX-Zone): A place deemed unsafe due to the presence of a witch.

[spoiler=Places]

Gaia: The planet this roleplay takes place on. An analogue for Earth, a world currently set in the dark ages of history (knights, chivalry, and the like.)
Alleria: The largest and most dominant kingdom on Gaia. Oppressively religious and a stalwart ally of Wisteria, many of its operatives hail from this land.
Witchhaven: A lone city founded by witch-hunters, for witch-hunters. Built around a tall ivory tower known simply as 'the Big Grave', members of this city are all tasked with keeping watch over the mass grave of powerless witches. The city and the few miles surrounding it are not bound to any nation and hold no allegiances - yet most nations are tasked with protecting its borders from raids.
Vale: A small town some sixty-odd miles from Witchhaven. Once a thriving lumber mill, the town has since fallen dead silent and is under suspicion for having become an EX-Zone.
Wahaav: A relatively old, stable ally of Alleria, bordering the eastern edge of the nation. While the focus of the peoples in this land is not quite as religious as that of the Allerians, they do indeed share the same faith - a great boon to relations between the two major nations. While Wahaav is generally more technologically advanced than Alleria, constant raids by barbarians and the incredibly dreadful, hot climate of the nation (a recent development in the past hundred years) has impeded true prosperity.
The Badlands: Otherwise known as the Eastern Wahaav Desert, this is a zone that's currently branded as 'uninhabitable' to the populace of Gaia due to the horrid conditions of the land - which is too hot, even for plantlife. However, various barbarian tribes seem to make due here just fine, despite the warnings from Wisteria. In truth, this is mostly a cover-up on Wisteria's behalf; the Badlands is home to many an escaped witch and their thralls, select few that are able to endure the torrid heat of the sun.

[spoiler=Advanced Information]

[spoiler=The Endlands and the Tlalli]The Endlands rest on hilly plains along the eastern end of the mainland, and are inhabited by long-eared people not unlike those of Crescent Isle, albeit with considerably darker skin to better take in the sunlight with, not to mention their keen eyes, making them excellent archers. The people who live there are largely nomadic, though a trade city exists along the northern coast by name of Ilhui, which - due to being the only non-moving settlement in the Endlands, serves as the "official" capitol of the "nation" of Tlalli. It's a trade city, and quite possibly the world's greatest exporter of hides, leathers, and furs.

On paper, Tlalli lands belong to the Huurth Empire. However, with Ilhui being recognized as a proper city, there's been debates on if the Tlalli should be given the Endlands as their own independant land and become a proper nation, or if they should continue living under Huurth's banner. It seems the Huurth Empire is none too happy about the matter, as they've been trying to take the land by force ever since Ilhui was completed. The borders of the Endlands and the rest of Huurth's territory has been an unmoving line of war for some time now, and Tlalli people have generally come to hate Huurth for suddenly threatening their freedom just because they have a city, when the two were warm acquaintances just before the war started with an unspoken arrangement. In exchange for keeping the Endlands monsters out of Huurth's other land, they'd generally leave the Tlalli alone. What the Tlalli lack in iron and steel, they make up for with arrows and war beasts, which has done wonders for holding the line.

Due to the Endlands' close proximity to Witch's Strait, the place is "irradiated" with magic, exhibited largely by the wildlife. Most notably, while the Tlalli people seldom end up as witches, it happens at roughly triple the normal rate in wildlife compared to anywhere else, and parts of the plains may suddenly grow at unspeakable rates and become small, yet dense jungles. It's relatively common for the local fauna - which are often far larger than their non-Endlands counterparts - to start shooting fireballs or cause earthquakes if they detect danger, and the flora is seldom peaceful either. Don't let the Tlalli and their skill in handling the land fool you: The Endlands themselves are hostile ground, and the careless will be killed.

The Tlalli people, meanwhile, continue to exist by both hunting and taming the great beasts, making them the most qualified hunters for beast witches, while also gathering resources from sudden mini-jungles as they pop up before knocking them back down. The Huei-Anqui ("great hunter") of each camp is - as the title implies - the greatest hunter of a camp, and is treated as the leader. How the title is passed down can vary from one camp to the other, but as a general rule, earning the title means challenging the current Huei-Anqui to a contest to see who can kill the greatest beast alone, with the title itself as the winner's prize. Only women can be Huei-Anqui.

Tlalli civilization is strongly matriarchal, with women doing the hunting and taming of beasts while the men handle more domestic matters. Women are also allowed to have multiple husbands (or even wives!), though the same does not apply to men. This disparity between sexes can even be seen physically to a slight extent, as Tlalli women tend to have more pronounced ears than the men, required to better hear prey. Of course, there are some camps where all of this doesn't necessarily apply; the Huei-Anqui of one camp may allow her men to become hunters, while another may forbid harems. This treatment of men also doesn't seem to apply in Ilhui. In fact, in the city, men have received better treatment than women because of their domestic roles up to now giving them the knowledge to create wares to sell. This is a highly controversial matter among Tlalli, as many believe Ilhui simply existing has been nothing but bad news, often citing the war with Huurth to solidify their argument.

When a Tlalli woman (and ONLY a woman!) turns fifteen years old, she may take her Trial of Courage at any point she desires. This trial means finding and killing one of the Endlands' signature bison alone, and having a shaman grind the horns into a fine powder. Due to being magical in nature - even if not all bison are witches - this powder can have special properties when mixed with certain herbs and water. Together, it creates a bitter liquid that causes hallucinations, albeit far from pleasant ones. Those who drink the potion must come face-to-face with the thing they fear most, and conquer it before being properly recognized as an adult among the Tlalli people, and adorned with appropriate tattoos by a shaman. It's said no two Tlalli women have the same tattoos, though there's no way to prove this short of rounding them all up and recording every tattoo. Upon clearing this Trial, women become allowed to marry, have children, hunt alone, and challenge a Huei-Anqui for their title. The Trial of Courage is a crucial part of a Tlalli woman's life, though it seems young women living in Ilhui are more reluctant to take the Trial since they live by trading with others, rather than hunting. This too is part of the massive controversy surrounding the city. Faking adulthood by tattooing yourself instead of letting the shaman do it is also a serious offense among the Tlalli, and may lead to one getting exiled to hunt and live alone for the rest of their days.

Tlalli naming conventions are a bit different from many places. A person is born with two names, and women may earn a third later in life. The first one is their birth name, followed by their mother's third name acting as the child's second name. A woman earns her third name by clearing the Trial of Courage and thus reaching adulthood, and the name typically reflects a trait of theirs that stands out, physical or otherwise. A hunter with a beautiful voice may receive a third name related to voices, for instance. It's considered polite to refer to an adult Tlalli woman by her third name. In the cases where a Tlalli woman has a child before reaching proper adulthood, the child's second name becomes replaced with X-Atleti, where X is the mother's first name. It's a great dishonor to bear a child with this name, and both the child and mother may get shunned for it. As one may expect, children with the name Atleti are becoming more common in Ilhui lately, due to the women of the city being less enthusiastic about the Trial of Courage.

Because they're on hilly plains, there isn't really much iron or steel to be found across the Endlands. As a result, the Tlalli people are notably behind everyone else in the weaponry department. However, they make exceptional bows, and although tipped with stone, their arrows aren't anything to scoff at for how primitive they are either. The hides of the local fauna also make great cloaks and blankets to keep warm with at night, and some of the finest leather one could want for armor. Not to mention plenty of meat. Many of the plants that spring up when jungles appear are also poisonous, and the Tlalli know exactly how to put the poison to good use. This plus their great hunting skill tends to make Tlalli women excellent assassins if they choose to leave their homeland.

Religiously, Tlalli are a pretty simple people. They worship no god or principle, and instead put their faith in nature itself. They've lived off the fat of the land for as long as they can remember, and aren't really known to take in excess and upset the natural balance. As a result of their reverance of nature and desire to maintain the balance, Tlalli tend to frown upon more advanced civilization that lives on the land instead of with it (yet another source of controversy surrounding Ilhui) and especially dislike witches, whose magics defile nature and turned the once-tranquil Endlands into what they are today. If a camp learns one of its animals is a witch, they kill it immediately.

Of all the magically-altered beasts living in the Endlands, the Tlalli's favorite is by far the bison. It always has been, even before the Endlands were altered. Its horns are necessary for the Trial of Courage, it provides strong hides and leathers, and the larger ones living in the Endlands of today are great for carrying huge amounts of resources from place to place, and they can easily graze upon the grasses of the occasional jungle to help return the place to its natural state. Not to mention that due to their size, they provide an abundance of meat when killed. It's a nomadic camp's dream come true. Many Tlalli legends describe the avatar of nature itself as being a gigantic bison spirit, and the animal itself is often associated by the Tlalli with prosperity, luck, courage, and the power to protect what's important in life. It's extremely rare for a Tlalli camp to not have at least one bison that supposedly brings good luck, and they're a recurring theme in the decorations of Ilhui.

Bisons are even involved in Tlalli marriages. Due to their heavily-matriarchal lifestyle, it's expected that the woman be the one who proposes, by presenting the man (or woman) she wishes to marry with the heart of a freshly-killed bison. Should they accept her proposal, the rest of the bison killed for the woman's proposal has its resources put to use for the wedding. They marry under a tent made from the skin and fur alike of the bison, and the ceremony proper (must be held at night!) involves exchanging necklaces that each end in one of the bison's horns, after which point the newlyweds and their campmates enjoy a feast from the bison's meat. This is one of the few Tlalli traditions that stays strong even in Ilhui, though the one proposing tends to offer one of the necklaces to the target of their affections instead of a dead bison's heart.

Those who walk the dirt streets and stone buildings of Ilhui, however, should use some caution. Tlalli, while good people overall, are very opportunistic, and shopkeeps may well try to gouge the wallets of outsiders by conveniently having a shortage of inventory whenever one walks into their store. Having been brought up entirely on spiritual customs instead of mortal laws, expect the rules to be loosely-enforced and easily broken in the city, with the city itself running more on gold and teamwork instead of order and structure. There are no laws in Ilhui. They're more like guidelines. While the locals will happily band together to defend their city, there's no proper city guard to speak of, making it easy to end up on the wrong side of the "law" and leaving the fates of anyone who threatens the peace more up to popular vote instead of any regulated system of punishment.

[spoiler=Application]

Character Name:

Gender:

Age:

Country of Origin: (For Country of Origin, feel free to contact me regarding a country you want to develop or make up - I'll talk over these developments with you and apply them to the 'places' section of this post.)

Appearance:

Biography:

Recruitment: (Here, explain why exactly this person was recruited into Wisteria. Please note that 99.99999999% of all witch-hunters are recruited victims of a witch attack, for reasons that will be elaborated further ICly.)

Personality: (No need to go on and on about your character here. I'm mostly concerned with the what and why of your character is, not the who.)

Sample Post: (Make a sample post regarding your character - feel free to go nuts with worldbuilding. I expect no less than four paragraphs, here.)

Asriel Dreemurr · March 20, 2017

Stop, my penis can only get so erect!

Not-so-Radiant Arin · March 21, 2017

Interest noted.

Aix · March 21, 2017

Kate you are going to host 2 RPs?

Anyway, dark fantasy is my jam.

Lunar Origins · March 21, 2017

I want to know which one is going to garner more interest so I know where to place my effort.

a bad post · March 21, 2017

I'm quite interested in both, so whichever one you decide to do I'll apply for it

Lunar Origins · March 21, 2017

There is going to be a Skype group for this roleplay; message me on Skype @ moonpolish if you would like to participate in it. Planning will happen there and decisions made there will be summarized here. Thank you.

Yui · March 25, 2017

I don't normally do WIPs but I'm really out of it rn and I wanna make sure the bio's okay before I go any further so...here's a WIP.

[spoiler=Small Smithing Samurai (WIP)]

"Don't make me come up there."

Name: Shimokoube Koyashi

Gender: Female

Age: 26

Country of Origin: Crescent Isle

[spoiler=Appearance]

Height: 4'0"
Weight: 62 pounds

[spoiler=Biography & Recruitment]Koyashi is - or rather - was, a proud member of the Shimokoube clan. Mostly a family of blacksmiths, Koyashi was raised in outskirts of one of the cave-cities of the Cresent Isle, living around the forge and handling newly-crafted weapons and armor since she was young. Koyashi was expected to take over the family business, and she was pretty handy with the tools of the trade. By the time she was twenty, she could forge a sword as fine as anyone would want to defend themselves with. She got to use such a blade at some point too, five years later.

Witches. Even in caves, they pop up, and Koyashi had been confronted with one during a late night at the forge. The witch's plan had been to shrink Koyashi to the size of an ant then squish her - it had apparently learned the spell recently and wanted to try it out before attacking the city proper - but Koyashi threw a red-hot, fresh-off-the-anvil sword at its face in the middle of the spell, causing it to run away once the witch's face got familiar with how red-hot steel feels through one's cheek and on one's tongue and leaving its spell unfinished. However, even if only partially, the damage had been done. Koyashi had been shrunken down to sizes she hadn't been in over a decade. Explaining the situation to her family and proving that she was indeed Koyashi took most of the rest of the night. Everyone agreed to not speak of the incident and wait it out; surely Koyashi's shrinkage would fade with time.

It didn't. Koyashi waited six months without growing an inch, before deciding enough was enough. She vowed to join Wisteria and eventually force a witch to undo her shrinkage. She packed whatever she needed that she could carry, and took off. It wasn't until recently that she got to Witchhaven and actually made good on the first half of her revenge plan. They seemed much more eager to let her join Wisteria once she mentioned her small stature was a witch's doing. She's not big or strong like many witch hunters may be, but she's got great hearing and knows her way around a forge and anvil.

Recruitment: Initially, Koyashi's attempt to join Wisteria had been rejected with her being mistaken for some idiot kid. When she explained in detail her encounter with the witch that shrunk her, on the other hand, they were much less hesitant about her joining the ranks.

[spoiler=Personality]

[spoiler=Sample Post]

[spoiler=Misc]

Asriel Dreemurr · March 30, 2017

[spoiler=One Big Happy Family]

[spoiler=Arthur Pendragon]

Character Name: Arthur Pendragon

Gender: Male

Age: 38

Country of Origin: Alleria

[spoiler=Appearance]

Height: 5'11" (180cm)

Weight: 190bs (86.2kg)

[spoiler=Biography]

Arthur Pendragon did not have the easiest childhood. Born the son of Uther Pendragon, who was at the time a Radiant of Wisteria, as soon as he could understand the words it was made clear to him that he was expected to someday follow in his father’s footsteps. The Pendragons had quite the history with Wisteria you understand. All the way back seven generations ago when the family’s founder, for whom Arthur was named, achieved near mythical status in the organization. By solidifying his family’s link to the Witch Hunters, the legendary Arthur assured that his descendants would enjoy high status in Alleria for generations to come.

Uther, by contrast, was not held in such high regard. His well known promiscuous habits, of which Arthur was the product, meant that many among Wisteria did not hold him in high regard. While he nominally held the title of Radiant, mostly out of respect for Arthur’s Grandfather, he was not given the respect that position should have given him. In many ways he took this out on Arthur, pushing his son to become stronger and sparring with him until the boy could scarcely open his eyes through the bruises. Still, Arthur benefitted from this abusive training in that he grew stronger and faster. Though the others in Wisteria were concerned about accepting Arthur as a squire at the age of 11 when Uther brought him to be tested, the Dominus at the time saw potential in the boy and allowed his acceptance. After all, the Pendragons had oft produced able Witch Hunters in the past.

Arthur learned quickly during his time as a squire, his previous physical training under Uther allowing him to endure the long hours of sparring without complaint. It was also here that he was taught how to command troops. He was picked out of his class as one of a few who might well have what it would take to become Radiants, along with the then similarly young Rade Cathos and Nikkita Ashford. It was just as well, because soon after he completed his trials and became a Knight at the age of 15, his class being the youngest yet seen in Wisteria, he learned that his father’s squad “Hallelujah” was killed to the last man while hunting a witch on the border with Wahaav. With other squads already deployed, Arthur was named the youngest Radiant on record and given command of a squad made up of his fellow squires. They were sent out and tasked with recovering what they could of Hallelujah, and silencing the witch if they could find it. When Arthur returned with his father’s sword in hand, his squad lightly injured for the most part, and the silenced witch in tow it silenced many of his critics.

Thus began a career worthy of the Pendragon name, such that even now Uther Pendragon is all but forgotten in the wake of this now more famous scion of the line. Of course his career was not without its dark marks, in particular one where a witch that he had underestimated killed half of his squad before they silenced it. In the aftermath of this failure, Arthur requested to be reassigned as a Hand to hunt witches on his own for a time. He was 17 when he took up the oath, and shortly after he took the assignment he began to see signs of an unusually subtle witch when he began his roving hunts. Many times when he found a town in the grip of a witch, there were often missing persons whom he could not account for among that witch’s prey. The day eventually came where he caught this subtle witch in the act of feeding, and this was where he realised there was something truly remarkable about her. When she noticed he was there, she did not attack him in a berserk fury as others had. She studied him for a moment, and then when he got too close blinded him with magic. By the time the spell’s effect had faded, she was gone.

Thus began a two year long hunt that brought Arthur on this witch’s trail. Again and again he caught her, and each time she escaped by narrower and narrower margins. On the occasions when he could corner her long enough to fight, he questioned her about things and eventually learned that her name was Morgana d’Orcanie, a name he recognized from his education into Gaia’s history. This further intensified his interest in her, and as the calls with her became closer and closer interest turned to infatuation. The day came when he caught her in the wilds between settlements in Alleria, and their battle left him too tired to silence her and her too tired to run any further. They collapsed on the ground, and somewhere in the night they found themselves in each other’s arms. This went where one might expect, and the two of them spent a week together before Arthur had to return to Wisteria for another assignment. He promised to find her again, and some months later when he found her in a sleepy village on the border with Velhardt he learned that he was going to be a father.

His life as a Hand meant that Arthur could never spend more than a week at a time in the town with his beloved and his son, who Morgan, as she had started calling herself, named Mordred. Still, he visited as often as he could and made certain that the boy knew he was loved by the both of his parents. When Mordred was old enough, be tried to teach him how to fight with a sword and a bow only to learn that his wife, even though she always refused to go to Witchhaven with him to be properly married, had beaten him to the punch. Still, he expanded upon Mordred’s training where he could and inspired the boy to become every bit as strong and brave as his father had become known to be. Arthur was happy with this life that he had built, even though the questions from his friends and superiors in Wisteria sometimes made it difficult for him. He finally resolved to properly convince Morgan to properly marry him and to bring their son to Witchhaven, the consequences be damned, and when he again had the time he left for Korvhal with a horse and a large cart.

He met Amen on the road, returning from the village with his son among them. His initial fears, that the boy had become a witch and been discovered, were quickly relieved. The boy was normal, though the story that he had been injured by a witch and his mother killed was a frightening one for the Hand. Of course he did not believe it, the Witch that Amen were returning to the Big Grave with struck him as neither powerful nor clever enough to vanquish his beloved, but now was not the time or the place to bring that up. His son needed him, and he took him in.

Arthur brought Mordred back to Witchhaven himself, and formally announced the boy as his son. That Arthur had an eleven-year-old son that no one knew about did cause a stir, but it also answered many questions about his habits. The hand was given leave of his duties to care for his son, though when it was decided that the boy must be inducted into the ranks of Wisteria he insisted that he be given the duty of training him and the other squires in the admittedly small class that Mordred would join. Domina Nikkita Ashford allowed him to do so, and under Arthur’s tutelage his son proved to be everything that it had been hoped the son of Arthur Pendragon would. His fellow squires benefitted from the Hand’s training as well, and they tied Arthur himself when they graduated to the rank of Knight at the age of 15. Arthur further insisted that he be given the rank of Radiant again and be allowed to command whatever squad Mordred was placed in, but his request was denied. Domina Ashford, and most of the Radiants as well, cited that his attachment to his son could lead to him showing unfair preference for him in a combat situation. Arthur was granted the rank of Radiant again, as most agreed that he would be an even greater asset in that role.

Over the next four years, Arthur did everything he could to be with his son. Their assignment to different squads of course made this difficult, but he supported Mordred as best he could even in the face of some of the young man’s worst experiences. At present, Arthur and his Squad are hunting a witch across the border in Velhardt and word of his son’s reassignment has not reached him.

Recruitment: As a member of the Pendragon family, who have a history with Wisteria now spanning nine generations, Arthur was taken in as a Squire at the insistence of his father Uther Pendragon.

[spoiler=Personality]

Arthur is in many ways the ideal to which the members of Wisteria aspire. He is unrelenting in his pursuit of witches, fearless when he faces them, clever enough to track them to their lairs, and wise enough not to charge blindly in after them. Much of this comes courtesy of a truly peculiar trait among Wisteria, respect for his prey. His relationship with Morgan le Fay granted him a special insight into what witches were beyond the primal rage and hunger so many of them display. With those more sane, he uses this knowledge to sometimes convince them that being silenced is the best thing for them. With those who are not sane, he uses the understanding that they often have some small spark of humanity within them to lure them into a place where they feel secure enough for him to strike.

Beyond this, he is wholly devoted to his family. That means Morgan and Mordred both. With his son this means that he seeks to spend whatever time he can with him, and offers advice where he can to help him be successful. With Morgan, this means that whenever he can he tries to find even the slightest sign of where she has gone since the attack on Korvhal. He will certainly never stop searching for her, so long as he lives.

[spoiler=Sample Post]

It had finally happened. After nearly two years of chasing her down, two years of close calls and near misses, two years of frustration at more than just his failure to silence a witch he had her. In a forest in central Alleria he had caught her, and their fight had created a new clearing miles from the edge. Now Arthur stood only a few paces across the scorched ground from Morgana, his sword heavy in his right hand and the gleaming Culling Blade in his left casting its baleful light on the ground and the leg of his trousers. Morgana’s blood lay upon his sword, but her form was perfectly unblemished. Her pale skin glistened in the moonlight, the crimson splotches on her arms more of his blood than hers.

Silently he staggered towards her, and she approached him as well with eldritch power burning in her eyes. She could hide it better, but he knew she was as tired as he was. She would have already run if she was not, so it seemed this would finally decide how his hunt ended. He knew that she was a witch, and his faith and calling demanded that he silence her here and now. Yet the dozens of times they had met before had taught him more than that. She was a woman, and a fascinating one at that. She knew the medicinal applications of plants he thought were pure poison, and she had a particular fondness for Morning Glories. He knew that she was a monster, the seeping wound in his shoulder was more than enough proof of that, but he also knew that she was a woman. And that was not the only thing he knew about her.

The two finally came within a single pace of each other, and they locked eyes. Each held the power to end the other then and there, and though it was his duty Arthur could not bring himself to do it. Exhaustion overcame him, and he fell to the ground with his sword clattering against a charred stump and the Culling Blade sizzling as it fell into the earth. He felt something impact his chest, and when he opened his eyes he saw Morgan lying atop him. In that moment, young though he was, he knew exactly what he wanted the rest of his life to be. So he lifted a tired hand and threaded its fingers through her long dark hair, which soon had her looking him in the eyes.

“I love you.” He said, finally giving voice to the feelings his duty told him he should not have and his faith assured him he was damned for. Yet in that moment, staring into her gleaming eyes and feeling her hand come to rest on his cheek he could not have cared less.

“I know.” She answered, and closed the last few inches between them. They spent the night lying there in each other’s arms, and exactly what one would expect to happen between two lovers happened.

[spoiler=Morgan le Fay]

Character Name: Morgan le Fay

Gender: Female

Age: ??

Country of Origin: Orcanie

[spoiler=Appearance]

Height: 5'8" (173cm)

Weight: 160lbs (72.6kg)

[spoiler=Biography]

Born Princess Morgana Elstradt d’Orcanie, eldest child of the King of Orcanie, she had everything a young girl could possibly want for. She grew up in comfort and security, and was raised to eventually become the next ruler of the island nation that sat in Gaia’s central sea. She was taught to read and write, the works of the great thinkers of the day, and even received instruction in how to fight from horseback. She was set to become a grand Warrior Queen some day, but alas that was not to be.

The Island of Orcanie came under attack by a foreign power, and though Morgana would never properly remember who they were she assumes it was the religiously obsessed nation of Alleria. Her Mother and Father led their armies out to face their foes and did not return. Their capital city was besieged, broken into, and put to the sword. As Morgana watched the city she loved burning around her from the castle, something changed deep within her. Though she would never properly remember the specifics, she became a Witch that day and set her newfound powers to work against those who surrounded her. She certainly could not save the city, but she was able to escape and reap a bloody toll upon those who sought to take it.

She came to her senses some time later, and however much she has tried she had never been able to learn whether it was days, months, years, or even longer. What she did know was that she found herself in the company of another woman in a small house atop a frozen mountain somewhere in Velhardt. The woman introduced herself as “Sif” and explained that she was a witch. Moreover, she explained that she had intervened on Morgana’s behalf to save her from a group of Allerian Witch Hunters and had brought her in to teach her to control herself. Unnerved by her inability to remember where she had been or how long it had been since she had been in Orcanie, she was only too happy to learn what Sif had to teach.

Under the other Witch, Morgana learned Alchemy. She learned to make all manner of potions and tonics, including an especially important one which would allow her to stave off the madness thought to be inherent in all Witches. She also learned that even this was not a perfect solution, as it had to be supplemented by occasionally feeding upon humans in order for her to remain sane. When she had stayed long enough to learn how to properly make this potion that would serve to let her keep control of herself, Morgana left to make her own way in the world.

Deciding that if she had to feed on humans she would feed on those she believed responsible for her parents’ deaths, she found her way to Alleria and passed from village to village under the guise of a traveling alchemist. Many times she ran afoul of Wisteria’s Witch Hunters, and every time she vanquished them to the last before vanishing without a trace and taking up a new name and face somewhere else. She never felt anything about those she faced. That is, until she met Arthur.

Arthur was not like others from Wisteria whom she faced. He was strong and brave to be sure, but clever as well. Clever enough that time and time again he sniffed her out when she fled to a new place, and that time and time again he survived and even nearly defeated her. Such qualities piqued her interest, and she began seeking him out as much as he sought her. In spite of herself, she developed feelings for the young man and eventually those feelings saw her seeking him out ever more. Their meetings became more frequent and less violent, and eventually they found themselves wrapped up in a romance that neither of them could properly escape. This led exactly where one might expect, and when they discovered that Morgana was with child they decided it was for the best that she settle in somewhere more permanent. So she settled in a town on the border with Velhardt by the name of Korvhal, and soon enough she gave birth to a son who she named Mordred.

Mordred was ever the object of his mother’s affection, and though she could not give him all that he deserved as the descendant of royalty he was she gave him everything she could. She taught him as she had been taught, even including some of the medicines she had learned to make from Sif or else discovered herself. When Arthur was able to visit, she allowed her son to spend whatever time he could with his father and so the boy grew strong and brave like the man she loved. Of course she insisted that he not know what she was, and Arthur agreed. Thanks to the town’s proximity to the unstable border between the nations, there were ever bandits and raiders whom Morgan could feed upon with little guilt, so neither the townsfolk nor her son had much reason to suspect a thing. Perhaps she should have been allowed to have this small piece of happiness, but that was not the case.

Another witch came to Korvhal, and this had the expected effect. Morgan le Fay, as she had taken to calling herself now, kept her son in her house and when night fell she tried to flee the village in the hopes of getting word to Wisteria and her husband, though they had never been officially married. She was intercepted by the other witch, and though perhaps she could have easily dealt with this young upstart her foolishly brave son had followed her and tried to intervene. The other witch decided that Mordred would make a fine snack, and incapacitated him with the intent to feed. As one might expect, Morgan did not handle this well. The only thing that kept her from obliterating the witch then and there was the arrival of a squad of Witch Hunters who had been tracking the witch from elsewhere in Alleria. Realising that her discovery would only make things more difficult for her husband and son, she instead wove an illusion to deceive the witch hunters into seeing a woman who matched her description dead at the severely wounded witch’s feet. She left, understanding that by doing so she would almost certainly never see her son or her husband again. With little other idea of where to go, she headed East to Wahaav in the hopes of finding some place in the desert where she might find some peace in her life.

Recruitment: N/A

[spoiler=Personality]

Morgan has long since overcome her hatred of Alleria and Allerians, thanks in no small part to her beloved Arthur Pendragon. In truth, she has very little hatred within her being at all. She simply accepts that in order to remain sane she must occasionally kill and consume humans, and when she does she chooses those who visit violence and death upon their fellow man. An almost inhuman intellect and her obvious magical powers mean that she can often do so without arousing much attention about her feeding. In fact only Arthur has been an able enough Witch Hunter to track her down since she began ensuring that she could remain in control of herself.

She is similarly devoted to her family as her husband is, and it is because of that devotion that she chose to abandon them rather than shame them by letting it be known that she is a witch. Even if she had managed to properly conceal it when the hunters arrived in Korvhal, she knows that it would be impossible for her to hide forever especially in a city like Witchhaven. So she has run, and she intends to run as far as she can and hide as far from Arthur as possible because she knows that he will never stop looking for her and that they cannot be together anymore.

[spoiler=Sample Post]

She had been so careful. She had covered her tracks, abandoned hobbies, even gone so far as to change her form a dozen times, and yet it all had come to end here. Here in the middle of a nameless forest in the center of the nation she had hated above all others, Morgana Elstradt d’Orcanie had finally been caught. The witch hunter had chased her for nearly two years, driven her out of every town she had thought safe, and finally caught her here when she was planning her next move. They had fought for hours, her magic had created a new clearing through bowling over trees and burning the ground, and finally she could fight no more. So she stood less than a dozen paces from Arthur Pendragon, the infuriatingly clever hunter.

He staggered towards her, his body long since stripped of its armor by her blows and glistening with a mixture of her blood and his own. Of course none of her wounds had stayed open for longer than a few seconds, but even so she knew that this was the end. She could run no more, all she could do was finish this fight. She knew a hundred ways to kill him with what little strength and power she had left, just as she was sure he knew exactly how to silence her before she could ready another spell. So she staggered forth as well, her thoughts straying away from the spells and towards such mundane thoughts as the young man’s favorite mince pie, for which he had shared the recipe once when he had caught her and she had not run immediately. She thought of what he had told her of his family, of the pride he had in his friends among Wisteria, and she knew that this Allerian was not the monster she had thought them to be. She tried to focus on how her parents and her kingdom had been conquered and put to the sword by the nation, but always her thoughts drifted back to him.

She had stopped moving before she knew it, and now they stood only a pace apart from one another. It would only take her a moment to rip out his throat and end the only Witch Hunter capable of catching her, but then she would be without the young man who so hopelessly dominated her thoughts. When he fell to the ground, she found herself afraid that he had died and she dropped and placed her ear to his chest. The sound of his beating heart comforted her, and when she felt his bloody fingers running through her hair she knew that it was over.

“I love you.” He said as she turned her gaze towards his face. Of course he would be so bold and foolish, this brave young knight who had chased her from Wahaav to Velhardt and finally to the heart of Alleria. She should have killed him for his impudence, but the only place she could bring her hands were his cheeks as she moved her face over his.

“I know.” She answered, and though she knew that this would only give the two of them a future of suffering she kissed him. Before long, they found themselves doing exactly what two honest lovers ought to in each other’s arms.

[spoiler=Exotic Weapon Proficiency(Bastard Sword)]

Character Name: Mordred Pendragon

Gender: Male

Age: 19

Country of Origin: Alleria

[spoiler=Appearance]

Height: 6'0" (183cm)

Weight: 175lbs (79.4kg)

[spoiler=Biography]

Mordred was born in a sleepy little hamlet named Korvhal that rested on the border between Alleria and Velhardt. He was born to Morgan le Fay and Arthur Pendragon, who ever sought to make sure he knew that he was loved. So even as he grew and the other children in town teased him for being a bastard, he paid them little mind. He was a happy boy, and he was ever eager to help his mother in the little herbalist shop she had in the town’s market. He was just as eager when she offered to teach him how to defend himself against the many threats that border towns faced in Gaia. So he learned the ways of fighting with a sword and a bow as they had been taught in the Kingdom of Orcanie in ages past. So quickly did he learn that when his father tried to teach him how to fight he disarmed the man who had been expecting his son to be untrained. Still, Arthur taught him more modern techniques of fighting and somewhere between it all Mordred built a style for himself made of the best pieces of both. He was set to grow up a happy child and become a fighter who could defend that hamlet from the threats they would face.

This all changed when one day his mother came back early from gathering herbs while he was doing his morning arithmetic exercises and told him to stay in the house. He didn’t think much of it at first, but over the day he heard screaming and other, stranger sounds from outside. When he asked his mother about this, she told him that a witch had come into town and they needed to hunker down and wait. He did as he was told, at least until night fell and his mother slipped out of the house when she thought he was asleep. Thinking her in danger, he grabbed up the bow she had made for him and the sword his father had given him for his 11th birthday and went after her. He came upon her confronting what was certainly the witch, and he shot the witch three times in the chest with arrows before he was knocked unconscious by a spell.

He awoke to an armored figure, who introduced himself as Rade Cathos, checking to see if he was alive. He managed, with Rade’s help, to get to his feet and saw a scene that would haunt him for the rest of his days. The witch he had shot knelt on the ground, screaming as his tongue was cut out with a gleaming blade, in front of a mangled body that he recognized as his mother by her miraculously intact face. At first he couldn’t believe it, he rushed to her side and shook her as if thinking he could simply wake her up, when the realisation set in he knelt and wept for what felt like an eternity. He was only roused from his grief when Rade placed a hand on his shoulder, and explained that, since he had been attacked by the witch, they had to take him back to Witchhaven and Wisteria.

They met his father on the road, and Mordred wept again when he embraced the man and told him what had happened. Arthur carried him to the cart he had been driving, and took the boy back to Witchhaven himself. A few days later he was presented to Wisteria for testing, passed, and in spite of Arthur’s protest he was inducted into the order as a squire. While at first hardly able to believe, much less accept, his new surroundings, Mordred was better able to grow accustomed to his new place in the world thanks to his father. Though he never truly became happy again, he was at least able to accept the way of things and devote himself to becoming a Knight of Wisteria. When he graduated at the age of 15 along with the rest of his fairly small class, he was at least able to take some pride in that he would be able to stop witches from taking any more children’s parents.

Mordred has since served as a knight for four years under the guidance of Radiant Alastor Breckenridge in the squad Adulation, and so far has been with them through good and bad. Perhaps his worst experience was when Sarah d’Balfon, a squadmate of his, took a hit from a witch for him and, after he had silenced it, died in his arms while he tried to save her. Still, the squad has benefitted from his being there. He has time and time again demonstrated his leadership skills, essentially serving as an unofficial Scry for Radiant Breckenridge. Though he has made a case for himself to become a Radiant several times, he has been denied each time on the grounds that Domina Ashford did not believe he had completely recovered from the trauma that preceded his recruitment and that beyond that there was not yet an opening for a new Radiant. So for now Mordred serves Wisteria as best he can as a Knight, eagerly awaiting his chance to prove himself as a commander.

Recruitment: Mordred was recruited in the aftermath of his home village, Korvhal, coming under attack by a witch and his mother Morgan le Fay being murdered by them. His father, Arthur Pendragon, protested his recruitment on the grounds that he deserved a normal life.

[spoiler=Personality]

If Mordred had a mantra, it would be “act with wisdom, but act.” He of course respects the ideals of knighthood as his father embodies them, and is himself brave and unflinching in the face of witches, but he does not aspire to them in the same way as others. He holds that they cannot simply rush in to meet witches in chivalrous combat, preferring instead a more investigative and measured approach to attacking them. His reasoning is that in first learning about a witch’s abilities they can engage them without unnecessary loss of life on the part of those hunting them. Of course he does believe that one ought to still act decisively when dealing with witches, but he has before been guilty of being slightly hesitant to engage a witch when the rest of his squad moves before he has studied them to his satisfaction. Still, his studious approach has given them the information they need to engage their opponent intelligently and he has ever gotten quicker at assessing a foe’s abilities.

Mordred has also remembered the alchemical skills his mother taught him in his youth, and he ever seeks to apply them against witches in the field. Whether that means concocting poultices to quickly staunch the bleeding from a wound, or poisons to overwhelm the healing abilities of a Witch and allow them to be brought down quicker. He also does whatever he can to collect samples from a witch before they are silenced in order to study them later to further learn about their properties. Presently, he is interested in recovering intact witch bones to test their properties and attempt to weaponize them.

[spoiler=Sample Post]

Mordred sat at the small desk in his quarters, candles burning all around as he drizzled a mixture of extract from hemlock and appleseeds onto a chunk of flesh resting in a small glass dish. With a grim expression on his face he observed it through a magnifying glass, waiting for any observable effect to take root while he turned an hourglass over to time it.

“Slight discoloration of muscle tissue at…” he looked away from the sample for just a moment to check the level of sand in the glass against the time markings he had inscribed on its side, “one and one quarter minutes. Too slow.” He muttered, reaching over to a pad of paper and was about to scratch through a line of text when a thought occurred to him. Instead he wrote beneath the line, which detailed the exact specifications of the mixture, “slight effect on sample tissues, attempt field-test with higher concentration” before setting his quill and notes aside.

“If I’d only had this idea sooner…” his sentence trailed off and the memory of the day Sarah died came back to him. The witch had regenerated more quickly than they expected, and he had been caught off guard when it sprouted a tendril and tried to ram it through his gut. Sarah d’Balfon had jumped between him and the witch, and hadn’t quite raised her shield fast enough. He clenched his fist as he remembered stuffing her wound with cloth to staunch the bleeding, unable to get the image of her eviscerated body lying in his arms as he tried everything he knew to keep her alive. He slammed his hand so hard against the desk that he dislocated his little finger, the pain bringing him back to the present. He popped it back into place with ease, and stood up from his desk to walk out of the room.

“There has to be something.” He thought aloud as he picked up his longbow and quiver of arrows, intent on going to the archery range Wisteria maintained at their headquarters. If nothing else it would clear his mind enough that he could get back to thinking. “Venom from a Wahaav horned viper might be a thing to try...if I can get my hands on any.” He sighed and shook his head, trying to get his thoughts on something more pleasant for the time being. “I’ll try the appleseeds and hemlock if I don’t have something better before we move. At least it’ll stick to arrowheads easily.”

Lunar Origins · March 31, 2017

"..."

Character Name: Deaf

Gender: Female

Age: 22

Country of Origin: Ea

[spoiler=Appearance]

[spoiler=Biography]Deaf hails from a poor, barbaric and uneducated nation settled in the middle of the Ashgardh sea, settled directly south of Orcanie and the badlands. The citizens of this country are noted for their lack of any real education and are instead taught from a young age to fight to gain what they wish and squander away what they already have. Raids on other nations are common; one such event that was particularly brutal in the history of Ea was its raid on its sister nation of Orcanie. Sailing forth to the nation's capital on captured Allerian vessels, this violent and lightning-fast raid very nearly put an end to the nation of Orcanie; many of the nation's valuables were plundered, many wenches were taken, and much celebration was to be had in Ea.

Deaf's father, of course, left to raid said nation, though he never returned, leaving Ea and her mother destitute and poor, despite the otherwise prosperous situation the nation found itself in after the raid. Her mother began to work as a high-class prostitute in order to garner a somewhat decent life for her daughter. She eventually found herself in a relationship with a particularly brutal lord; the lord in question, however, held nothing but ill will towards Deaf and eventually accused her of witchcraft. Through his influence, the girl (who didn't have an ounce of magic in her body) was silenced and shipped off to Witchhaven, never to be seen again. Very little protest was set forth by her mother, to everyone's surprise.

Since her pity-driven induction into Wisteria, she has (astonishingly) proven herself as an incredibly valuable asset. Where others would come out dead against a witch, Deaf somehow persists with an unfaltering iron will. Often times she goes into battle with witches alone and comes out nigh-unscathed, and has already silenced nearly fifteen witches across all of Alleria. She has earned a nickname because of this, known amongst her close companions as 'Deaf the Invincible'.

She is one of the senior knights that has been transferred to Amen, due to the lack of experienced talent.

She was a candidate for Radianthood, but has been declined indefinitely due to her inability to speak - a vital skill in the team-based operations that Radiants overlook.

[spoiler=Personality]

Deaf's personality is one that is particularly hard to nail down. If you could sum it up in one word, it would be 'distant'. She rarely communicates with the other members of her team aside from a few learned hand-signs. Despite this, she is one of the most loyal soldiers available; she follows orders to a T and nearly never questions authority - a trait that many of the lowborn people of Ea possess.

In her private life, she is reserved, erring on the shy side of things. She has a tendency to avoid men in particular and will often return to her quarters alone after a night's hunt in search of a good, lone rest.

Recruitment: Deaf was recruited into Wisteria out of pity, due to wanna-be witch-hunters accusing her of being a witch and de-tonguing her, motivated by a scorned lover's spite. When presented to Wisteria, instead of receiving a fate far worse than death she received a gift - live in the safety of Witchhaven's walls for the rest of her life or serve the order as a respected member. She chose the latter.

Lunar Origins · April 2, 2017

I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to cancel this roleplay.

Lunar Origins · April 2, 2017

April fools.

👀 REP 👀 · April 3, 2017

[spoiler=Edwin Pryce / Barnard Wilson]

"I'm just taking what's rightfully mine, that's all."

Character Name: Edwin Pryce
Allias: Barnard Wilson
Gender: Male
Age: 22
Country of Origin: Alleria
[spoiler=Appearance]

Not pictured here is the scars he bears on his neck, which resemble someone strangling him.

Height: 6'0"
Weight: 143 lbs

[spoiler=Biography]

Edwin Pryce is the first and only child from a family of nobles; specifically, he came from a line of financial advisors. As such, he was spoiled to death by his parents growing up, and was raised to be his father's successor. Alongside learning how to manage finances and how to read and write, he was also taught how to defend himself with a sword and bow. He would often join his father during his trips to collect taxes, which was his only interaction with people outside of the children of other nobles.

A bad habit he picked up when we was young was petty theft. He would constantly pick the pockets of the noblemen and women that his father would talk to, despite getting scolded from both of his parents for doing so. Of course, as he was a child, his parents would have to pay the fines of their child's crimes. As time went on, he got better at it, and less and less of the nobles noticed the rascal rummaging through their pockets. He also started becoming addicted to the rush of theft, constantly stealing without a second thought.

As he grew up, his techniques and greed followed. What started as simple sleight of hand pick-pocketing slowly grew into extortion and manipulation, putting what he had learned about finances and taxation to, in his opinion, good use. He also started going for greater gains, putting himself at more and more risk as he kept on going. He was on top of the world from his perspective - he could take as much as he wanted from people, and they were none the wiser! However, he eventually bit off more than he could chew when he attempted to steal a whole statue from someone. As punishment, he was exiled from the kingdom for his crimes.

Furiously he left the kingdom, stealing from his family one last time from his hometown before wandering Gaia. Eventually, he found his way onto Wahaav, an ally of the city that he was once banished from. It was here that he would begin his life anew, although this time he was not a nobleman like before. While he lacked street smarts, he still had what he learned during his days as a thief. He started calling himself Barnard Wilson to hid himself from his past. He did what he did best - steal. However, this time around instead of doing it to fill some sick addiction, it was for survival. During the day he would be a humble street vendor, hustling people for the goods that he would steal during the night. While bumpy at first, life became stable for him.
Of course, stable wasn't enough for Edwin. Having heard about Witches, he had set a personal goal for himself - he would steal from at least one witch. They must have some form of fortune with them, after all. Plus, if anyone on Gaia even have a sliver of a chance to do it, it would be him. Of course, rushing towards the Badlands would be suicidal, even for him. So he would bid his time, waiting for a witch to come to him. Patients, however, was not his strong suit, so he started venturing outside of the town. At first, he would stick to the boarders of the town, but he would slowly start branching out more and more.

Eventually, he did find a lone witch somewhat far from Wahaav - this was his chance. Not wanting to miss his opportunity, he started tracking the witch, looking for the prime opportunity to loot it. However, he was not nearly as stealthy as he had thought he was when approaching the witch, who spotted him as he was almost in arms reach. The witch grab him by the throat before he even had a chance to pull out his knife to defend himself, threatening to strange his breath away. Luckily, two members of Wisteria happened to be nearby and stopped the witch from killing him. However, they weren't able to silence and ultimately kill the witch as it got away. Barnard had also been left with burn-like scars in the shape of fingers across the area of his neck that the witch had gripped him on. These scars weren't ordinary scars - they would never heal and, if he ever got close to the witch that had left him the scars, would not only burn but also start suffocating him slowly.

[spoiler=Recruitment]
On the surface, he applied to join in order to show his gratitude to the people that had saved him from certain death. However, his ultimate goal for applying was to get revenge on the witch that had left him with the visible mark of shame he bears on his neck.

[spoiler=Personality]

The two words that would describe Edwin the most would be arrogant and cunning, always 2 steps ahead even under pressure. He is also always underestimating people, whether they're his allies or his enemies. Because of this, he is selfish and manipulative, constantly using people for his own gain. As he grew up, he became not only greedy but also a kleptomaniac, unable to control his addiction to steal things. Finally, he is exceptionally vengeful - no one would get away from defacing him, even if he had to hunt them from across the world.

[spoiler=Sample Post]
Barnard let out a sigh as the wind blew past his hair. He had been patrolling the outside of Wavaah in search of a witch, as he had been doing for the past week now. It seemed like today would be no different from the others, as he saw no witch in sight. He turned his head towards the city before returning his gaze back infront of him. Slowly, but surely, he had been inching away from the city with every expedition in hopes of finding one of the witches. "Better get moving, huh?" He spoke to no one in particular. Taking a deep breathe, he turned his back on Wavaah and made his way farther away from it.

It had been about an hour since he delved deeper into the wilds. Defeated, he let out a sigh before starting to head back to town. However, something had caught his attention from the corner of his eyes. His eyes lit up when he realized what it was - a witch! A rather young looking woman, hiding her figure underneath a rather expensive looking cloak. "Jackpot!" He thought to himself, preparing himself to sneak up on her, his heart racing and his blood pumping. This was his chance, an opportunity for glory!

He had made it pretty far without getting detected, trailing the witch as she moved. He hadn't noticed how far he had gotten from town, nor did he notice that they had somehow made their way into a shallow cave. None of that mattered - all the mattered was that he could feel the loot in his hands. Doubt started to creep into his mind as he wiped the sweat off of his brow, but he quickly brushed it away. He got close to the witch - only a few steps and he'd be in her pockets in no time. "Heh, like stealing candy from a..." His train of thought stopped as he suddenly felt an immense pressure on him, his arm stretched out and near the witches pocket. "Fool..." The witch spoke as she turned around to face the thief, who was frozen where he stood.

Breaking from his trance, Barnard reached for his dagger. However, before even had a chance to pull it out, the witch quickly grab him by the throat; a menacing scowl on her. "What business do you have, sneaking up on a witch like me?" As she spoke, her grip on his throat tightened. He tried his best to sweet talk his way out of the situation, but he could barely breathe let alone speak. In desperation, he flailed about like a fish out of water. "No matter..." She started to chant something he could barely understand. Suddenly, his neck and lunges started to burn up. "So...this is it, huh?" He thought to himself; his vision starting to black out. He closed his eyes, ready to embrace death. Suddenly, he felt himself crashing onto the floor. His eyes jutted open and he started gasping for air, clutching his throat in surprise. His vision was still blurry and distorted as he stared blankly forward, the ringing of his ears making it impossible to make out anything. It didn't take very long for him to black out again as he laid on the floor.

When he woke up again, he found himself on the bed of a local inn. Standing up, he clutched his head as he got dizzy from the sudden rush. "W...What happened..." His memory of what had happened was a bit shaky, but he did remember that he did find his witch. Everything else seemed to be a blur, but one thing was for sure. "Damn it..." He cursed under his breath, slamming his fist onto the wall next to him. He had failed at stealing much of anything from the witch - instead, the witch nearly stole his life away from him. Suddenly, he heard a knocking on the door. "Come in." He said as the maid let herself in. "So ya finally awake, huh? What were you doing so far from town anyways."

"Er, I..." It probably wasn't the best idea to tell her that she was hunting one of them alone. "...I got lost." He lied through his teeth. She made a sort of pouting face, not fully believing him. "Well, you should be more careful next time! You're lucky those hunters were around to save yer sorry butt." She let out a sigh. "They even paid for your stay at the inn."

"Hunters, huh..." He thought to himself. He ran his finger through his neck, feeling the change in texture of the scars he now had. On that day, he made up his mind - he was going to hunt down and kill the witch that had humiliated him. Of course, doing so alone was suicide - no, instead he would join Wisteria.

Asriel Dreemurr · April 6, 2017

Oh, hey Rep. Good to have more people interested. Apps are up, so go ahead and throw something out when you have time.

)e//!s0P · April 6, 2017

Alright, got mine done. Just a note, Byran is a small village in Wahaav

Character Name: Denver Asteria

Gender: Transgender(originally male)

Age: 25

Country of Origin: Wahaav

[spoiler=Appearance]They are about 6 feet tall when male, and 5 feet 4 inches when female. When a he, he wears a cow leather vest, thin leather trousers ,a broadsword sheath, and sandals, decorated with the clan symbol on them. He has blue eyes, blonde straight short hair, and an imperfect nose. When changing genders, he/she gains a golden glow, and begins to swap appearances. When a she, she is wearing a blue sleeveless loose fitting tunic,with a short underdress, and again, sandals with the clan symbol . She has the almost exact same face(just more feminine), hair color, and eyes as her male self, but has longer hair. She has a short sword sheath with a short sword.

[spoiler=Biography] He was the son of the clan leader. He had been a candidate for being the new clan leader when his father was on his deathbed for an unknown reason. The clan had voted, and he was victorious. It was only a day more and he would be in charge. He could hardly wait!

Until it was taken from him.

A witch had been waiting for him. It had hid in an alleyway for him, and awaited him. When he turned the corner, the witch began chanting. Suddenly,he was shrouded him golden light. His hair was growing longer. His clothes were changing into different clothes. His sword was changing sizes, from a broadsword to a short sword . Luckily, he had acted fast, pulled out his broadsword/short sword and had stabbed the witch's tongue.The witch got a speech impediment.The witch ran away, leaving her alone.But the damage was done. Originally, the spell would have changed him to a girl permanently. But as he had acted, he would, every so often, gain the golden glow and swap genders. It took a lot of time to explain to his mother and the clan.

His/Her pride was gone. He had but one honorable path:Join the Wisteria.. He would get his family's pride back, and she would not stop until the task was done.

[spoiler=Recruitment] He/She has duel purposes Having 2 personalities. He is the fighter of the two, and she is the stealthier than him. It leads to efficiency. He was recruited out of pity, mostly.

[spoiler=Personality] He is brash, loud, and strong, almost explosive. He tends to leap before he looks. While female, however, she is the opposite, quiet, calculating, and shy, tending to appear when brains are required. They both are a bit naive.

[spoiler=Sample Post]Ah, he missed his home, Byran. He Missed the comfort of grass under his toes. And he missed his chance at becoming a dignified clan leader.

He had been gone for so long he had almost forgotten his last training session in his village. He had worked so hard to complete his training. He even, to make himself look better, worked on making water pipes for homes for free. And to think it was all for nothing.

He gained the golden glow. He/She frowned. She hated the underskirt, and didn't know a thing about women's fashion.

Ah, but that was her life, whether she liked it or not. She must deal with it as it is. At least she could see her/his future.

Asriel Dreemurr · April 6, 2017

Alright, Jellis. I am going to give you a nice read-through of your app and put my thoughts on it here.

First things first, put details about where your character is from in their biography. It just fits together better there. You don't need to tell us where the village you mention him being from is at the top of your app. In fact, you should not. That is literally what the Biography spoiler is. Also, Wahaav is meant to be Central Asian (Middle Eastern) inspired so I don't really know if Byran fits as a name for a place in it.

Name seems pretty normal for a westerner, which your character would not be since they grew up in Wahaav. I'm not suggesting this as his name, but Altair Ibn la Ahad is a name that would be more fitting for where he's from. At least google "middle eastern names" to get some idea of the way they're structured and written.

Transgender(formerly male) in a medieval dark fantasy setting? I am assuming you mean that they underwent gender reassignment surgery or something similar, which could only be accomplished by a Witch permanently changing him. Why they would do this I have literally no idea, but we'll revisit this when I read through Denver's bio.

Age and country of origin are whatever, I've said what I have to say about him being from Wahaav already.

Appearance is...starting to be worrying. "When a he..." Does your character switch back and forth between male and female? No. That is impossible without them having their own magic power to let them do that, which would make them a witch, which would mean Wisteria would be hunting them down and thus your character would be all but impossible to keep with the cast. Also, why would their height change so much between male and female? Also, why do they have blonde hair and blue eyes when they're from the middle east? I don't know if you're aware, but those traits are exceedingly rare once you get further East than about Poland. Blonde hair more than blue eyes, people are occasionally born with blue eyes in modern day Central Asia but blonde hair is pretty much unheard of. Beyond that, why do they use different weapons? Also why would they have two completely different outfits? Does whatever magic is changing them from male to female and back again change their clothing as well? Does it change their weapon? What is the symbol of this clan you keep talking about? It doesn't help that we know it's associated with a clan unless we know what it looks like. The symbol's association should also be talked about in the biography rather than the appearance.

Gonna take a break here to go back and talk about their gender. Transgender means that a person identifies as the sex that is opposite to the one that they were born as, not that they can transition back and forth. What Denver here is is what's called a Transformative Hermaphrodite. That said, Gender is what someone identifies as. If he was a male and had this weird magic thing put on him, then he probably still identifies as male. This is why we put gender in the app, it's important for the character what they identify as. It's also why it's a good thing to include what a character's biological sex is so we can know if they're different. Anyways, the point is that you need to use the appropriate terms.

Moving onto the biography, what clan is he from? Why was there an election if he was the heir of the current head of the clan? Why would a witch care who became the head of a clan? Why would changing him into a woman stop him from becoming the head of the clan, especially after he was able to explain what had happened to his mother and the rest of the clan? Why do you not make any funking mention of the village he was from, where in the world it is, or how big it is? Why did the spell change his clothes and his weapon? Do you know that historically the word "broadsword" was never used, and that what you're probably thinking of is what would be called an Arming Sword? Did you know that an Arming Sword and a Short Sword are essentially the same thing? How was Denver even able to get close enough to the witch to cut their tongue out? Witches in this are basically witches from Madoka Magica, I.E. monsters on the level of something out of H.P. Lovecraft, and even though some of them will keep humanoid forms they are still pretty monstrously strong. Which is why you need really specialized training to be able to take one on, hence the existence of Wisteria. Why didn't the witch just up and eat Denver if it didn't want him to become the head of his clan? What is the name of this clan? There are just too many friggin' questions in this bio for it to be doing its job of explaining where the character is from.

Recruitment is whatever. The problems with it are more or less the same as the problems with the bio, though bringing up the two personalities thing is just...no. No no no no no, that is a stupid trope among stupid tropes. It also wouldn't lead to efficiency, especially if he can't control the transformations as you implied in the bio. "But as he acted, he would, every so often, gain the golden glow and swap genders." There isn't any usefulness in this, since you imply he can't control it. Also you used gender incorrectly again.

Your personality is actually not that bad. You sum the important things up quickly, and since there's no length requirement to it you really just tell us everything we need to know. That said, the whole split personality thing is still a stupid trope. Worse still that its tied to a physical transformation. Which brings up the question of why in the world his personality changes at all when he changes! Why would the witch even care about changing his personality at all? And I know I'm coming back to this again, but why would a witch waste all this effort on him instead of just eating him or dragging him off or whatever? If the witch wanted him for its harem, I don't see it bothering to change his sex. If they wanted a woman they would just take a woman rather than make a man into one.

Your sample post is just insulting. That you would think something so horribly minimal would be remotely acceptable is just...no. We're set in the High Middle Ages at the latest, there isn't plumbing and if there is it's in the homes of the wealthy elite. We aren't living in some Roman Empire Era where there's plumbing in large portions of cities, and we certainly aren't living in the modern day where most houses have indoor plumbing. Beyond that, people wouldn't just let some random person in to fix their pipes if they needed it.

This app is awful and stinks of not understanding the remotest aspects of the setting it is being made for.

)e//!s0P · April 6, 2017

Sorry, but I'm dropping out. I already worked so hard, and it would take like the time I put into it, and double it. Bye.

Aix · April 8, 2017

Personal Information

Name: Lionel Wrenford

Gender: Male

Age: 24

Origin: Alleria

[spoiler=Appearance]Picture: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/ZJq8G

[spoiler=Biography]Lionel was the second son of the former Wrenford family of knights. Although they were not true nobility, the Wrenford family served the remote Duchy of Eselburgh as knights and protectors of the law for generations. Or so that's what they said they did, but in recent memory, everyone despised them as the Duke's personal hounds. They both abused the name of the law and acted outside of it, staining their hands with all sorts of foul business.

Lionel's mother died of a mysterious illness when he was six, and he grew up mainly in the company of servants who either loathed him or were afraid of him. His father oversaw his training, but preferred to focus on his heir, while the heir, Lionel's elder brother, Joseph, felt himself too old to play with Lionel.

This neglect drove the young Lionel to approach others on his own. Unfortunately, his first "friend", a maid, turned out to be seeking vengeance against the Wrenford family and used Lionel to approach his father. Failing in her assassination attempt, she proceeded to try to hold Lionel hostage in order to make her escape. The ultimate result was that she died terribly and Lionel would have trust issues for the rest of his life. From then on, rather than make friends, Lionel sought to understand and control people.

Due to his apathetic nature, Lionel took up the work of the Wrenford family quite naturally under his elder brother's wing. Just like any other person, Lionel approached his brother, figured out what made him tick. He soon learned that Joseph hated what the Wrenford family did, between kidnappings, assassinations, and false prosecutions. Once, the Wrenfords were loved by the people as allies of justice and Joseph dreamed of returning to those days once he became the head of the family. However, he lacked the initiative to try to oppose their father and merely bided his time.

One day, this changed. The Duke of Eselburgh had quite sadistic fetishes and regularly required "restocking" in attractive females, which the Wrenford family handled. However, this time, the Duke's eyes landed on the beautiful daughter of a neighbouring Earl. Kidnapping her was a great undertaking that required all the family's manpower, and in the process, Joseph actually ended up falling in love with her. Lionel understood his brother quite well, the girl represented everything Joseph sought, nobility, admiration of the people, purity, innocence, and she was gorgeous to boot.

Joseph became determined to rescue her. He gathered all the evidence he had and carefully made a plan to assassinate the Duke as well as expose the Duke's wrongdoings. Yet, as Lionel understood his brother very well, he was able to lead the countermeasures. In doing so, he would be able to become the heir. Just as Lionel was at the height of his triumph and Joseph was driven into a corner, Joseph gave in.

There, Lionel learned the terror of the supernatural as all his men were slaughtered before his eyes and Joseph escaped. Over the course of the next month, the witch repeatedly tried to rescue his beloved and kill the Duke. Each time, Joseph grew stronger and more horrifying. Ultimately, despite the witch hunters of Wisteria being called in, there was a massacre resulting in the deaths of the Duke and much of his household. Lionel's father and men were foremost among the casualties, and Lionel himself was gravely wounded before his brother was driven away

Reason for recruitment: Having lost everything, he decided that he would join Wisteria. It was similar in nature to his previous work, and he seeks to gain the means to deal with his brother one day when his brother comes back for revenge.

[spoiler=Personality]

Despite his austere appearance, Lionel is a rather social person, he seeks and enjoys the company of others. While he doesn't usually smile, he has a very polite bearing when speaking to others. This combined with his deep, but soft-spoken voice and his chiseled looks does give him a quiet charisma, although some might just find him creepy. He likes making people open up to him, but he will never let himself be open, thus close mutual friendship is not something he is currently capable of.
As the son of a renowned family of knights, Lionel has an immense superiority complex. This does not show in any first impression, but it becomes obvious as he takes any criticism as an insult, and things get personal fast. When angered, he does not hesitate to become violent and even when he calms down he holds grudges close to heart.
Lionel understands that orders and a command hierarchy are necessary things in any military organization, but is more used to being the one giving orders, and may think himself both above certain tasks and capable of acting independently.
While he incessantly exposes himself to mortal danger in hunting witches, he always likes to be secure. In social circumstances, he makes acquaintances and connections wherever he goes for the ability to pull the strings as needed. In the field, he always makes sure to have an escape route and ponder upon the plan of action on his own. His need for security and control is what partly drives his motivation to hunt witches. Killing them quells his fear and boosts his confidence that he will be able to handle being attacked by one.

[spoiler=Sample Post]

Lunar Origins · April 10, 2017

Small bump.

a bad post · April 12, 2017

Character Name: Niusha "Hush" Sedaghat

Gender: Male

Age: 21

Country of Origin: Wahaav

[spoiler=Appearance]

Height: 5'2"

Weight: 102 lbs

Due to the fact that he has from androgen sensitivity syndrome most assume Niusha to be a woman. His feminine features and wide hips make it easy for Niusha to fool unsuspecting targets, though now-a-days he has little need to trick others though (Apparently you can't seduce a witch).

[spoiler=Biography]

Born to a small, long forgotten clan Niusha remembers little of his birthplace. At the tender age of six, a wandering band of barbarians raided Niusha's clan killing all the adult age members of the clan and taking the children to use them as slave labor. The children would not remain in the care of barbarian band for long though as a group of traveling warrior nuns had happened upon the clan upon the ruined remains of Niusha's village. Hoping to find survivors of the attack the nuns tracked the barbarians, and upon finally catching up with them easily dispatched them despite being out-numbered. The nuns out of pity took in the female children of the village and delivered the male children to one of the larger, more influential tribes in the region with whom they had a close relationship. Due to his feminine appearance, Niusha was taken with the nuns instead, and because of his condition, even Niusha was none the wiser to the fact that he was not a woman.

Under the tutelage of the nuns, known as the Benat-Allah, Niusha and the girls of his village were taught not only faith but the nuns taught them academics, medicine, and most importantly how to fight. Niusha was a particularly diligent student, and quickly gained the favor of the Dhat-Hami, who became like a second mother to him. However, as the years went on and Niusha grew older it began to become more and more apparent that he was not quite like the other girls of his village. Unlike the girls, he had not developed breasts and puberty had come and Niusha had yet to get his first period. Worried that something was wrong medically with him the nuns examined him and, upon further examination of his pelvic region, discovered that Niusha was, in fact, male. Due to the laws of the Benat-Allah, it was with a heavy heart that the nuns were forced to expel Niusha from their order.

Entrusted to the chief of the clan the Benat-Allah had entrusted the other boys of Niusha's clan so many years ago he was again left without a family. In the time since Niusha had last seen the clan, known as Abd-el-Kadir, had risen to become the most powerful and influential clan in the entire Wahaav region. Familiar with the training he would have to undergone under the tutelage of the Benat-Allah Niusha was quickly accepted by the clan of warriors. Using his delicate and feminine appearance to his advantage Niusha became a skilled assassin for the Abd-el-Kadir often posing as a servant girl or concubine. Word of Niusha's skills quickly spread throughout the clan's ranks eventually reaching all the way to the clan chief. Knowing he would be a valuable asset Niusha became the right-hand of the chief and played a large part in helping the Abd-el-Kadir keep order in Wahaav, putting down clan chiefs that became too troublesome.

Niusha's time with the Abd-el-Kadir would come to end after only six short years, and on an inspection of one of the clan's eastern camps, a witch beset the camp killing all but Niusha, who would be were it not for Wisteria's timely arrival. Niusha would not come out of the attack unscathed, however, the witch's attacks had left him mute.

Recruitment: During the witches' attack on the Abd-el-Kadir encampment Niusha was gravely wounded by the witch and his life was only saved thanks to the quick response of the witch-hunters of Wisteria who had been tracking the witch for several days. The only survivor of the attack Niusha left his clan deciding to join the ranks of the witch hunters.

[spoiler=Personality]

Niusha is a rather asocial person, though this tends not to be by choice. While Niusha has a relatively good grasp of sign language in both Allerian and Wahaavi dialects due to the fact that few others among Wisteria understand sign language Niusha struggles to communicate with his colleagues. Because of this Niusha tends to stick with only those he can communicate easily with, or if those people are unavailable he will retire to his quarters and enjoy a good book. That being said if someone seems genuinely friendly enough to want to reach out Niusha has no problem making the effort to bridge the communication gap between him and this person.

Sample Post: (Make a sample post regarding your character - feel free to go nuts with worldbuilding. I expect no less than four paragraphs, here.)

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