Our Lips Are Sealed - Started (Still Recruiting)

[Clio]

And btw, I was going to see if someone wanted to be a real villain and eventually play Mariana's creator. He'd have to be an evil bastard, and the information is in her profile. Just a thought. Or perhaps I could find someone to bring in?

[Jassara Sunn]

Should I go ahead and put her in the Character Sheets page??

[gsptGoddess]

Yessss

[eBadger]

Name: Muriel
Specification: Unknown
Age: Ancient (appearance when human is around 20)
Sex: Female when human



Appearance: Muriel is the voice in the darkness.  She is most recognizable as a young, slim girl with pale skin, dark hair and pure white irises, sporting a pair of wings - which sometimes appear to be mere costume, and at other times move and stretch as though real.  She is fond of crosses and usually darker than her surroundings, even lost in silhouette, as though the light fails to touch her.    In another form, she appears as one of the many ravens that make Castle Hill their home; seldom recognized, she often uses this to silently observe.  Lastly and most dramatically, Muriel has a particular affinity to the House itself; she sometimes steps away from a physical incarnation to the boards and railings and nails of the structure, where she manuevers those she has judged either to escape her fellows or be led towards them, opening and closing doors, flickering lights, even changing rooms from one glance to the next.  Here she is barely glimpsed as a shadow in windows and mirrors, or by the sound of fluttering wings. 

Personality: Muriel is a quiet observer and judge.  In conversation, she seems to invest every word with meaning, and has a tendency to impart terse commands - to run, hide, stand firm, be honest, or lie - any of which may lead to doom or salvation.  She considers the Sparrows her particular minions, although this may be completely without cause, and often tries to befriend them: an experience some have found profoundly disturbing.  Above all, Muriel is wracked with sadness; mourning for the entirety of the human condition.

Background: In the Ancient Times, Muriel was among the proudest to be given the care of Humanity.  She, more than almost any Other, saw the light of Hope burning within them - the promise of love and perfection that even her own Host fell short of - and she became more fascinated with every new one she met.  She dedicated herself to them, nurtured them, protected them...and then watched them fall upon one another in a cannibalistic orgy of murder and destruction.  Every ill of the inhumanity of man tore at the fragile structure of her soul, took it to pieces and blackened her divinity until, faltering beneath her wounds, she Fell. 

Much was burned away during her Fall.  Unfathomable power became a mere shadow of illusion and trickery, a mind which understood the pathways of God's reasoning could barely glimpse past reality, her memories of Ages became charred bits of ash blown away in the weakest breeze. 

All that remained was the joy of Goodness and the horror of Evil.  She had no purpose.  For millenia she wept where she fell, bonding with the earth; she became less a person and more a place.  Then mortals drew near.  Some burned with white light, and she saved them - even from themselves - cured them and sent them on with blessings.  Others were pitted with black darkness, and these she fell upon with screams, tearing their hearts out and devouring them raw. 

The centuries passed, and as she found a barest whisper of a purpose so too she found the most fragile sense of sanity.  Sometimes she would walk among them.  Others she simply Was, adapted to the Time: a cairn of rocks, a teepee of bleached animal skins, a hall of rotted logs, and finally a worn timber manor high on a hill; a shelter, and a promise and a warning to all who drew near. 

When she met Others, similar and yet different, she found them without light or dark and so never judged them.  They were like the oaks or stones or wind: primal forces for whom right or wrong made no sense, they simply Were.  She greeted them, gave them leave of her rooms, and paid them little more attention - for more human were coming to her than ever before, and Muriel began to find each more fascinating than the last. 

Notes: I know this is an odd take on the Unknowns, but I hope in keeping with the theme and the freeform nature.  I can limit her more if needed.  Also, I'm certainly not trying to take every action of the house, nor prevent others from using it: I imagine a great many things occur there subconsciously to her.  This is just a way of imparting the building with some more character, and explaining all the creepy supernatural things that make for a good Castle on a Hill. 

[gsptGoddess]

I do like the character; a couple of things though:

Is she the house itself, or does she just, so to say, puts her spirit into it to become a part of it? If so, where does her actual body go?

I love the back story but I don't love her age too much. I don't know if a creature from practically the beginning of time fits too well in this story. She has to be bound to the house and hold a level of naivity in her character, so if you can shorten the time span to a little bit, or just twist her background so that she doesn't seem to be too much of a Godly character, that would work just fine.

Also, Sparrows = minions, no good. The Unknown could see them as that to suit their fancy, but in reality, they rely on the Sparrows to survive. Without them, they have no humans, no food, no life, simply because they cannot leave the grounds of the house. Though I'm sure the Head Sparrow would love her, since she could get any and all information on everything that goes on in the house from her. And she's a woman of the past, so she'd love the stories she could be told.

[Elf]

Wait I was not aware that the unknown are unable to leave the castle grounds. What keeps them imprisoned there? This is something that will begin to affect Arman's mood. After more than 30 years he may very well be starting to feel restless already. Remember he wandered from place to place before finding Castle Hill and other Unknowns.

[gsptGoddess]

The House itself doesn't allow them to move past the ground to a certain point. However, there is a way through the cellar to get out, if you can get past Paul without him noticing. If Arman knows that, then he's fine. I didn't want to throw that in there until later on, so I don't want everyone jumping at running around the Town. For now, only one person should be able to wander. It keeps the Sparrows in control and the human:non-human ratio decent. If they were to get out, the town would likely only last a few more months.

However, even the Unknown that find the way out through the cellar cannot leave the town. Once again, that is exclusive to Sparrows and Visiting.

[eBadger]

I imagined that Yes, she is the house itself, although her consciousness is sometimes projected in an avatar.  Essentially she is so much stuff, and most of that is the house, but sometimes part of that is a body, too - so a chair or mirror or some junk in the attic would vanish, but not so you'd notice...and that changes like that happen with reasonable frequency.  She is never more than the house and one avatar. 

The thing with the Sparrows was more of a Special Interest, not having them as minions, but was frankly half thought out and phrased very badly.  I was thinking that, as one who hasn't left her hill in nearly EVER, she's kind of enraptured by those who can.  I'll just RP that out, though, there's no sort of special link beyond a piqued interest. 

I'm happy to handle the age thing any way you like.  It just didn't make a lot of sense to NOT have an angel be old.  Again, though, most everything was burned out when she Fell, and was very slow coming back; she's ancient, but the gaps in her memory before, say, a century ago?  less? ...are vast: periodic impressions or vignettes with little meaning or relevance, and all from the very limited viewpoint of her hill, where most sane people stayed the heck away from.  Sometimes she forgets recent things as well: what happened a decade ago, or a year, or last week.  She certainly no longer possesses enough understanding to make much sense of any memories from before her Fall.  As for godly, being the creepy house and changing form is about it for her powers (although certainly impressive).   

Lemme know if that works. 

[Elf]

Okay so some mystical force keeps everybody except the sparrows and visitors in the town. I can handle that, and if Arman can go out into town maybe once a month it will keep him from getting too restless. Arman would have figured out the cellar secret as he would have visited Paul for the first few years, but stopped when he finally realized that the boy would not talk to him. Although his only involvement in turning the boy would have been the one to walk out of a room surprising Paul. Arman was actually against turning one so young believing that no good could come of it.

[gsptGoddess]

Alright, that sounds just fine. Go ahead and post her in the Character Sheet thread and I'll had her name to the Unknowns

[eBadger]

It keeps the Sparrows in control and the human:non-human ratio decent. If they were to get out, the town would likely only last a few more months.

It seems to me that the Unknown being able to enter the town would be the only thing that does keep the Sparrows in control, right?  That threat is the foundation of their authority?

And why would the town vanish?  You don't destroy your source, or disturb it more than you have to.  The town and their cooperation is the only thing that keeps the Unknown hidden and brings in a steady supply.  A very critical thing for beings who can't leave.  Any Unknown who went into town had better be on their best behavior, 'cause just running into one of them buying videos at the corner mart is likely to send chills down spines. 

[eBadger]

Alright, that sounds just fine. Go ahead and post her in the Character Sheet thread and I'll had her name to the Unknowns

Thank you!   And do let me know if anything needs ironed out as we go.  I've never played a house before, so not sure what complications might arise :)

[gsptGoddess]

Arman was actually against turning one so young believing that no good could come of it.

Aaand you've just unraveled the basis of this story. Elf, stop delving so deep into this. You're figuring everything out already! D: Haha. I shall say no more, except that if you were to add that to my reply (below) to badger, you'd understand where I'm going with this. (:

And why would the town vanish?  You don't destroy your source, or disturb it more than you have to.  The town and their cooperation is the only thing that keeps the Unknown hidden and brings in a steady supply.  A very critical thing for beings who can't leave.  Any Unknown who went into town had better be on their best behavior, 'cause just running into one of them buying videos at the corner mart is likely to send chills down spines.

The way the Sparrows see it, it's the same concept as Vampires running rampant in the human world. If there is no control over them, they'll just take whatever they want, regardless if that's more than their fill, and the humans there will die out. It's along those lines that they fear extinction of their little town. The Unknown are extremely powerful and their strength could kill anyone real quick, unless they were holding back. The Sparrows do not want that to happen so they must have their little area of calm.

[Elf]

Aaand you've just unraveled the basis of this story. Elf, stop delving so deep into this. You're figuring everything out already! D: Haha.

I apologize, you had been clear about the whole not being able to leave the castle grounds, which is all I was really asking about. You gave more info than I required, which if you wanted it kept secret could have given via PM if I really needed to know it. I Appreciate the info though.

[gsptGoddess]

Well I trust my writers not to misuse information, so I see no need for PMing you about it.