The Siren's Call to Play

[Songless Siren]

Alright, I've been a huge fan of the Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix for a long time, and that is where I got this idea.  Familiarity with the series is not necessary to play with me, as I have my own twists with the fantasy.  All you need to know is that it's a world where magic is used, but some magic (certain forms of necromancy) is forbidden and considered depraved.  My character, Carey, is a necromancer by birth, but her bloodline is among those who put the risen Dead to rest. 



In this world, the term necromancer has very negative connotations, and they are considered to be the darkest of mages.  The proper name is Death Walker, for these mages may walk freely in the world of the Dead.  Their magic is only dark when used improperly.  The charge of the true Death Walker is to keep the border between Life and Death, but there remains only one clan of Walkers who do not take advantage of their terrible power, and it has dwindled over time to only a man and his daughter.  They have long since gone into hiding as healers, but everything is about to change.

The kingdom has gone to war, and the king has decided that they need magic on their side, all the magic they can get if they are to succeed.  Recruiters have gone to every village, requiring a minimum of one mage to report to the military.  Carey and her father are the only mages present in their village, the resident's only resource for medical attention.  The girl is still growing in her powers, and can't be left alone, so both of them are dragged to the front lines.  At the encampment, they realize that other necromancers are there, and they are only too happy to lend their talents, now that they need not fear persecution for their arts.  They have been enlisted to raise armies of the Dead, soldiers that are capable of neither fear nor pain.  Somehow or other, the true nature of Carey's and her father's powers are discovered, and the army officers attempt to force them into breaking their oath and use their magic as their "bretheren" do.

This is all of the background information that I can give you without spoiling my first post, should someone decide to play with me.  Now, Carey will escape the camp, but she will not be forgotten.  The army will hunt her down, not wanting to lose her magic, and for fear of her returning for revenge.  I need a partner to take on one of the following roles, depending on how they wish to play this out:

Officer/Tracker:  The man assigned to hunt Carey down.  I intend to allow her to be caught.  I suspect that this will lead to the man succeeding in bringing her back, and trying to "pursuade" her to use her magic.  I can guarantee much fighting and rough play.

Bounty Hunter:  Almost the same as the officer/tracker, but without the real obligation to return Carey to her pursuers.  This character has a choice, but if he decides to turn her in, I can, again, promise a lack of cooperation.  Their meeting would most likely be by chance.

Civilian:  This would also be a chance meeting, probably one where a man notices a girl who is abnormally twitchy, and is curious as to why.  At some point, he would find out who Carey is running from and why.  In this scenario, he'll want to help.

~Open~

[Songless Siren]

How silly of me!  I forgot to give contact preferences!  Please feel free to post any interest right here, or PM me.  Thankies!  =^^=

[Lyrus]

Hm. Well I'm interested in the Officer role. I haven't read any of the books by Garth Nix, so you'll have to enlighten me, but I've played roles in similar situations before as an Inquisitor (Warhammer) and a Templar (Dragon Age) respectively. The roles I've played involved characters who were highly fanatical or exceptionally dedicated towards the hunt; is this how you pictured the officer, or did you have something else in mind?

[Songless Siren]

The only thing I think I "borrowed" from Nix was the idea of a necromancer who undoes the work of other necromancers.  Your idea of the officer is quite similar to the one I envisioned.  Would you like to go over the specifics in a PM?

[Lyrus]

Certainly. If you can PM me with the details of how such officers work, that would be good.

[Songless Siren]

This is another one of my medieval/fantasy roleplays...

Gold, silver, gems, livestock, grain, furs...The gifts vary, but every region of the empire is required to produce an annual tribute to their ruler.  One region in particular, far to the north, deals in pelts.  This year, though, they sneak a little something extra from just across the border.  Her name is Katja (pronounced Katya), a girl the trappers had caught attempting to free a rabbit from one of their snares.  She has been carted south to the capital city to be given as a slave.

I'm looking for someone to play the emperor...or perhaps an empress?  =^_^=

~Taken, but willing to take multiples~

[Songless Siren]

Everyone at court knew that William of Edraf was odd; he was smaller than the other boys, very private, and showed little interest in the ladies who playfully flirted with him at parties.  He, like many other sons of nobility, came to the capital at the age of ten to begin his training as a knight.  A boy of his size entering into this lifestyle was laughable, but that made him all the more desperate to prove his worth.  He struggled at first; the transition for him seemed to be more difficult for him than the others his age.  However, extra training sessions outside of his lessons made his progress improve exponentially.  At sixteen, he was the best swordsman of his class and could hold his own against many of the older boys.  He was still odd, though...He didn't undergo the same frightening growth spurt appropriate for boys his age, he never seemed to grow any facial hair, and the change in his voice was minimal.  All was explained soon after he was knighted at eighteen.  He attended the Mid-Winter celebrations after months of patrolling, and found himself entered into a mock duel for entertainment.  A man of the visiting nobility from across the border had begun to brag about the skill of his country's knights.  William's skill as a swordsman was known throughout the court, and they wanted him to teach their guest a little lesson.  How humiliating it would be for an experienced knight, boasting his prowess, to be defeated by the greenest knight they could offer.

They were not given foils or blunted blades, so the winner would be he who drew first blood.  They were evenly matched for the most part, but William, being smaller, was faster.  The other man, however, was not very careful with his sword; he had had a bit to drink, and one of his slashes could have been far worse...had it not been for the layers of tight bandages around the younger fighter's torso.  The blade had torn through "his" shirt and bandages to leave a long scratch from navel to collarbone, tracing between...her breasts?!

William was Winnamine.  Her parents had a lot to answer for, but they stood by her, and fought to make sure her title would not be taken from her.  She had earned her knighthood the same as any other boy.  She was allowed to keep her title, but many challenged it.  She couldn't perform the ordinary duties of knights, because by the time she had an assignment and was ready to leave, she was challenegd to another duel.  Again and again, she had to prove herself against the more traditional crowd, beating them one by one.  This seems to be her last fight of this manner; after this one man, there seemed to be no one left to fight.

__________

I would like someone to play this last contender.  He is a nobleman from the eastern border, and has come to see how good the Lady Knight really is.  It doesn't matter who wins or loses.  What I'm looking for is someone who will issue harsh banter during this fight, be a little rougher than necessary, and harrass her in castle corridors regardless of who wins.  (I'm thinking he might win to make things interesting, but we'll see.)  After a few days or so, he goes home, and in a couple of months, she is put on border patrol.  Part of her jurisdiction lies along the lines of this nobleman's fief in the east.  He knows very well that she is not well thought of at court anymore, and no one would mind if she...disappeared.  Some way or another, he takes her as his prisoner.  The method remains up to you, but a couple of suggestions are as follows: an invitation to stay at his fortress, rather than camp outside; or his men at arms give her the jump on the road.  The point is, he wants to punish and humiliate her for her charade as a boy, constantly tormenting her with the reminders that no one from the court cares that she's gone missing, and that she is helpless in his grasp.

Anyone interested, please post interest here, or PM me.

Cheers!  =^^=

~Open for Multiples~

[Songless Siren]

There were few who knew where she had come from, and there were even fewer who cared, for most of those who knew Mavis were dead by her hand.  Her existence was kept secret for reasons unknown even to her, the captain of the King's personal guard raising her as his own child.  He taught her to fight, to track, to kill.  By the age of sixteen, she had made her first kill, earning her place as a royal assassin.  At this time, only Farrell, the King, and select few guardsmen knew her personally.  When there were traitorous plotters, her blade found them.  Mysterious deaths cropped up all over the country, and within a year, she had earned a nickname: the Siren.  No one could be certain who killed these slave traders, counterfeiters, and thief guild lords, but there were rumors about a young woman who was suddenly present, and then gone...

When she was eighteen, she was given new orders.  There had been an outright assassination attempt on the Prince, the King's sole heir.  Such a thing hadn't occurred in at least fifty years, and was rather shocking.  As a result, palace security was tightened.  Mavis was extremely frustrated to be indefinitely tied to the castle, without field work, but she understood that there was no one better to guard against assassins than a professional.



I am looking for someone to play the Prince, and I would like to start out at their first meeting, when the circumstances are explained.  They will be together at practically all times, sharing the Prince's suite at night, leaving plenty of room for attraction and romance.


~Open~

[Songless Siren]

Oh my, yet another fantasy/medieval roleplay...a more modern one is coming soon, I promise! 

Your character is a shepherd (or shepherdess), watching over your family's flock at pasture near a forest.  It's a lazy summer afternoon, and just as you decide to take a nap under a tree, you hear your dog growling, and see that its hackles are up.  Shouts and the baying of hounds can be heard among the other trees, and they're coming closer...Suddenly, you can hear rustling in the underbrush as an animal staggers into the open.  It is in the form of a shaggy grey wolf, but much bigger than any you have ever seen.  You hold your dog back from attacking the beast, and before you can raise a weapon, the wolf collapses.  You can now see the arrow sticking out of its hind leg; you can see the rapid rise and fall of the animal's ribs, telling you it is alive but exhausted.  You look toward the forest, and put two and two together...The men in the woods were hunting this wolf...You glance back at the beast, and it begins to transform right before your eyes, becoming human...or what appears to be a human.  A wounded, naked woman lies before you in the grass, gasping for breath.  With the last of her strength, she rolls onto her back and says in a hoarse whisper, "Draw your knife...end it before they come.  Do not let it be said that those unworthy men killed Aneirin's daughter..." 

What now?  That's for you to decide!  =^_^=

There's my prompt for what your character experiences when he meets mine.  Now for some background information:
First off, Aneirin is a famous Elven lord, known for volunteering his aid to human causes on the battlefield.  His love for a human woman on one of these campaigns was not part of his legend, neither was his half-elven child.  He was a particularly unique case, for his kind had withdrawn from humanity, living out their lives in nature, believing themselves to be superior and humans to be barbaric.  This is his daughter's story, most of which shall be shared within the RP.  What you need to know now is that she seeks to create her own legend alongside her father's...and encountered unforeseen complications.

Modifications:
Your character does not have to be a shepherd.  He or she could be another wandering warrior, or of any other profession that can be rationalized as being found alone under that tree. 

Please PM me if interested.  There, we can discuss character profiles, get wrinkles smoothed out, or just go with the flow!  =^_^=

Please NOTE: Despite the style of the prompt, I roleplay in Third Person Past Tense.  Cheers.

~OPEN~

[Songless Siren]

MODERN!  As promised!  =^_^=

Amy, now a senior in high school (age 18), had always been above average in the classroom, going the extra mile on her homework and acing every test.  She was quiet, though, rarely speaking in class, all her thoughts seemed to go into her papers.  Her teachers and parents were thrilled by her GPA, but they were still concerned.  She didn't seem to socialize very much.  She kept to herself most of the time, and her idea of a fun weekend was lounging and splurging at her favorite book store.  She logged in hours with the school counselor, but insisted that nothing was wrong and she wasn't lonely every single week.  Convinced that she wasn't happy, the faculty became desperate to help their star pupil, especially since her peers, who hadn't really paid much attention to her before, had started teasing her.  The answer came when one of Amy's teachers went on maternity leave, and they had to hire a substitute for the remainder of the term.  The idea was that perhaps this new teacher might be able to get through to her.  It was arranged for him to work with her on an independent study project.  But what happens when they start spending time outside of school together, developing a more personal relationship than the faculty intended?

[Songless Siren]

The gift of the Sight made Senka a jealously guarded commodity.  True Seers were extremely rare, appearing only every couple of generations.  They were a blessing as well as a curse to whomever had such a person in their power.  The master of a Seer reaps incredible benefits from the visions, but he must always fear attack. 

Senka's visions began when the girl turned six, and her parents feared their child had gone mad or was possessed by a demon.  They could not bring her into the market crowd, else she would cry ceaselessly and clutch at her own head in pain.  The symptoms continued, and after a few months, they consulted a trusted priestess who agreed to examine the girl.  The priestess recognized what had awoken within Senka, and informed her parents that she was neither insane nor possessed.  She explained that their daughter's fits and uncanny knowledge were glimpses into the future as well as in the hearts of men.  She would always be in danger, from those who would seek to control her and from her own power if left untrained.  With minimal hesitation, she was sent to the priestess's temple to be hidden, protected, and instructed in her gifts. 

Unfortunately, the emergence of a new Seer could not be kept secret forever.  Senka grew into a graceful maid of nineteen.  She had learned to control her powers well enough to venture into the public, appearing to most folk as a mere initiate of the temple...albeit a very pretty initiate.  One night, a thief entered the temple; he was fleeing the city guard and slipped through the Seer's window.  Apart from the typical personal altar, incense, and decorative hangings one finds in an initiate's room, he saw something strange...A dark haired girl kneeling in candlelight, staring down into a bowl...A step closer allowed him to see that the bowl was filled with water.  A moment later, his own face appeared on the surface, but it was no mere reflection...He cried out in shock.  The shout made her turn around and scream at the sight of him.  He rushed to cover her mouth, but it was too late.  Priestesses charged with guarding the women of the temple, armed with spears, apprehended him and turned him over to the city guard.  They had no idea of the mistake they had made by letting the thief live; he had heard stories, and knew what that bowl of water and the image upon it meant.  He was questioned in his cell, and for a reduction of his sentence, he sold the Seer to his king.  Senka was forcibly removed from the temple, and given quarters in the palace of King Eamon.  There she stayed for months, grudgingly reporting visions, and detecting deceit amongst the courtiers.  During this period, a letter was sent from a guardsman who learned of what the king had stolen from his priestesses, and was received by King Anders, the ruler of a neighboring kingdom who had sent said guard as a spy. 


King Anders has ordered your character, a commanding officer in his army, to storm Eamon's castle as a diversion while a smaller team performs a special task.  He wants you to lead the delicate operation, but neglects to tell you why he's willing to risk so much to steal one girl.  Despite any misgivings you might have, you're on the march the next day.  I want to start the roleplay at the beginning of the skirmish.  It matters little to me whether your character is male or female.  I just want you to keep in mind that your duty is to take Senka, protect her, and deliver her to King Anders.  The journey between capitals is long, giving you plenty of time to discover what makes her so important, and to decide whether or not to go through with the task.

~Open~

[Songless Siren]

Please take note that I try to be flexible.  If you like parts of one of these prompts, but have suggestions for adjustments, feel free to PM me.  I really don't mind altering certain elements, and I think open communication is key to a successful roleplay.

Cheers!  =^_^=