[WB] Elipia story references [WIP]

[Lagertha]

◤Setting◢

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The land of Elipia was a peaceful place. A place of trade and prosperity. Mainly, the land was composed of farmers and those that used the resources around them. Now and then traders and travelers would venture through, but the place was known for its bounty in food, wildlife, diversity, and bright beautiful colors. Here it was said that the sun never set, for even in the dark the sky and land of Elipia were alit with beautiful creatures and bioluminescent plants.


No one remembered when the dark Gods had cast their shadow over Elipia. All that is known is the world was shattered by a pulsating magick. Chunks of Elipia splintered, people were turned into monsters, and the once peaceful lands had become dangerous. The original rulers of the world, the ones once worshiped as Gods, had become the leaders of the armies. Mindless things bent on controlling their lands and destroying anyone willing to get in their way.

Over the centuries, only legends remained about the leaders in their respective lands. Or how the world had changed. Ports had opened over the world, small things built to keep the terrors outside of their halls. The remaining beings had collected inside for protection, while others had equipped themselves with swords, shields, armor, magick, and sought to lighten up the lands of Elipia once more. Some thought the quest foolish. Others thought the cause noble. Those that died were marked as saviors. While others still danced on the fools' graves.

As most things changed over the years, so did the leaders of Elipia. Some had become sentient. Some had been conquered and overthrown only to be ruled by worse beings. A rumor had spread for one of the newest Lords, the Lord of Zu'Dedd, had once been a known adventurer seeking to purge the world of darkness, only to then themselves become corrupted in a seat of power.

All anyone knew anymore (for those not controlled by one of the current Lords) was that, nowhere was safe and everyone could be a foe.

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◤Systems◢

◤Madness/Amnesia◢
Based on psychology and mental illness.

This is the overall system that will affect everyone to some degree. Everyone, including monsters, will have their own tolerance and sanity levels. Some creatures that have become sentient can exist outside hearths or with the aid of magical dust longer than others. Even then there will be rare cases where no aid is needed at all. (AI someone has become so mutated by it, it no longer affects them further.)

If one is without the use of magical means or outside a hearth for long, their physical, mental, emotional being, and personality can all be affiliated by the Madness.

Madness will affect each race differently; humans are more prone to lose their sanity quicker and become mutated faster. Physical appearance mutating is a slow process, it's safe to say there will only be minor changes to a character's appearance if they are outside a hearth for around a year. It would take years to become a whole different species or to become a creature.

Most races will form some level of amnesia based on how long they are outside a hearth or without the aid of Gold dust. That being said, this is also based on a character's sanity level and tolerance (or faith).

Someone has to have a slither of sanity left to retain some of themself after amnesia. They'll also have to eventually determine if they want to keep fighting their own insanity to remember who they were before or go forward with who they are now.

◤Insanity◢
Based on a person's mentality, willpower, determination, and adaptability. As in how someone adapts to a situation, how they deal with what they see, hear, do, and don't do, etc.

This will affect adventurers more than the Horrors or Creatures of the world. It's based on trauma and how someone adapts to it. This will vary from character to character. Not saying Dark Lords, Lesser Lords, etc. cannot also be affected by this to some degree.

◤Creatures◢
Creatures are humans that have been outside of the hearth for a long time (years) and have been mutated by the madness to different degrees.

There will be those inside of the hearths and those outside.

◤Horrors◢
These would be mindless creatures outside of the hearths. They blindly follow their leader's wishes. Primal, leaning towards wanting to kill anything they are unfamiliar with. Mainly Adventurers that stumble within their area.

◤Gold Dust◢
This is the item to dull the effects of Madness, but it will never fully cure it. It won't cure amnesia. It'll just make it easier for characters to think clearly without becoming mindless or forgetting who they are. There will still be side effects from Madness (like headaches when a character tries to remember, anxiety when they are in complete darkness).

With that in mind, it also has this "glasses" effect to it. When it's blown into someone's eyes they can see things they didn't notice before. Not saying the things weren't there before, but it will help them see and think clearer. It will also help adventurers outside of the Dark Lord's regions to see hearths more effectively.

This won't be necessary for someone that's built a tolerance or for some of the creatures.

◤Magick◢
There is no healing Magick. Magick is ritualized. Blood Magick, Sacrifices, etc. There is long spell casting and lagged spellwork.

Lagged spellwork means a character can cast a spell but the spell won't go off until minutes after they cast it. More opportunities to miss on the battlefield. It's a last-ditch effort for survival.

Portal work is ritualized and only certain characters have this ability. There are magical items in the world that can do certain things, but I won't get into that yet.

◤Origins◢
While there is the "setting" it's more speculation of what someone thinks happened to Eliplia to cause all of this. People will debate and fight over it, but the true origins are unknown. There is no evidence left in the world to support anyone's theories.

All anyone knows is they are stuck in this world, making the most out of it and trying to survive. While some have decided they can eradicate the darkness and bring peace to the land…there is no certainty that this is possible. It might just be the Madness over leaking even with the aid of Gold Dust.

◤Geography◢


◤Navigation◢
The only navigation Mik'tu is given is a golding stream of light from Merilesqe that "guides" a user. There is no indication this is the correct or safest route, just the one she has been told to take. Maps do not exist in this world for whatever reason, and this is the only form of navigation discovered thus far.

◤PocketWorlds◢

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◤Hearths (Safepoints)◢
These are places where adventurers and certain creatures reside that keep the madness at bay. There is old magic housed here in the hearths, magic long forgotten. The area around the Hearth is also relatively safe depending on the strength of the magic or the creatures inside. Whatever the case, there are no words that prevent something unpleasant from happening within the halls or stumbling inside.

Toq

◤Places◢


◤Dark Lords◢
Debating how many, right now it is thus; 7 Dark Lords ruling over their respective 7 Regions/Territories.

Lesser lords are more sentient Creatures, there were be plenty with various degrees of authority. Adventurers overtaken by Madness can eventually become a lesser lord.

 

[Lagertha]

◤Characters◢
Mik'tu
Descriptions/Appearance: Haven't fully disclosed this in the RP. The one eye that can be seen is a bright yellow hue. She stands at 5'4, toned muscle, thin, with a paler skin. Since she's been outside, she has some coloring to the flesh.

Attire: She's locked into a round helmet with only one eye socket. There are slits, small holes, for her to breath out of, holes for her ears, and a thin slit for her mouth. The helmet makes consuming food or drinking difficult, but it is shackled into place with a lock. She wears a torn shirt that is little but shreds at this point, and pants that cling to her form. They are dirty, torn, and ripped from use. Her hands have gauntlets on them, thin ones that have individual fingers. However, much like the helmet, they are locked into place around the wrists with shackles and rusted. The fingers and wrists tend to stick and make her hands/fingers unusable at times, more so in moist environments.

Personality: Mik'tu is the quiet type. She doesn't ask many questions aloud and is just dealing with the situation. While she's a participant in the story, and the main one, she's observational to the place and people around her.

Insanity: Thanks to the creatures she's first introduced to even within Toq, her insanity is pretty high. She's trying her best to adapt to the things she sees and has experienced, and with the aid of Merilesqe, it makes it easier. However, she doesn't seem too phased by adventurers being bloody and dying. Though she is a bit annoyed she gets ignored.

Madness: The Gold Dust has allowed her to think and see clearly. After being outside a Hearth and without Gold Dust to keep the Madness at bay for over a year, she has lost all semblance of who she was.

Amnesia: Due to her being outside with Madness for so long, she's lost all her memories. She doesn't remember who she was, where she was, how she got there, etc. Even with Gold Dust, she'll scream from pain at anything that pokes at her past. Remembering, for now, might not be an option.

Despite this, she had a bit of sanity left to be saved from the Madness with the aid of the Hearth.


Uy the Almighty
Description/Appearance: A hump on his back, the hump makes him seem 7' tall. With the way the hump puts pressure on his spine, he leans a bit forward. He can not straighten up. His head stands at 6'. He holds a gold staff with a swirl on the end, it glows gold and is around 8' in height. His skin is grey, bandages are wrapped around his eyes. The rags he wears are various shades of yellows, but torn and frayed on the ends. His nails have grown out, long, and curled at the ends.

Personality: Loves to talk in the third person or praise himself. He's very full of himself but friendly enough. However, he absolutely loathes being told what to do.

Function: He serves as a guide to the area within the Hearth of Toq. He has some knowledge of the outside area, but he doesn't ever go outside (for whatever reason). He works closely with adventurers, providing the Gold Dust they need to fight the madness. He has other functions, but Mik'tu has yet to discover these. He also alludes to his brothers who occupy the other main hearths and serve similar functions.

Where he is found: Inside the Hearth of Toq.

Where he perches himself: For right now, he's on a boulder within Toq around the center with runestone overlooking him and gold feathers on the ground

Family: Unknown.



Merilesqe
Description/Appearance: She stands 9' tall. Her skin is a dark navy blue, and her hair a lighter sky blue. Her hair is long and overflows falling over her naked chest. She wears a large brimmed white hat. She holds a brown bowl in her hands with water. She covers herself with a white cloth. Her eyes are halfway closed permanently due to white strings being placed within the lids. Her movement isn't fluid, rather mechanical and slow. Her lips are pulled into a smile, even when resting. She has a whispery way of talking and pauses in between her words. The reasons for the way she talks and moves are unknown.

Personality: Merilesqe comes off as a gentle being, despite her size. She is friendly to Mik'tu, offering water and help, but she is impatient. She doesn't enjoy bickering, waiting, or those who don't listen to her. Merilesqe also has a weird quirk, if she likes an adventurer she hates when they don't come back to her for guidance and will seek them out.

Function: She is a "guide" of sorts. The bowl of water she holds will never empty no matter how much is drunk from it, and it has a calming effect on those that drink from it. There is no healing. When she uses her magick, the threads on her body will glow, and she bangs the bowl of water three times (usually) to enact her ritual. She creates a glowing line in the air with water particles to guide the adventurers on their path, the so-called "right" path.

Where she is found: Currently, she is within the halls of Toq.

Where she perches himself: She's in the first room in the center where Mik'tu was drug in. There is a chair she sits on, refusing to move with the bowl of water on her lap. To Merilesqe's right is a firepit of sorts that houses some of the magick of the Hearth. The pit is full of orange flames.


Viktor van Leiopod
Description/Appearance: A knight clap in armor from head to toe. He wears a square helmet that has a mesh of holes below the noes. There are slits for his eyes and ears. His eyes are a dark brown, and dark circles accompany his eyes. He wears a tunic over his armor, which is split in two, the right is red and the left is blue. Next to the knight is a sword and shield. His armor is relatively new-looking compared to others.


Personality: Nonchalant. He enjoys a friendly conversation. He gets interested and uninterested in people pretty quickly. Typically, when he is done talking he will go back to sleep. This is all that is known of him at this time.

Function: Guide? Maybe a wander? It's not really known but he seems to enjoy Tass with looking for things for someone. He'll talk to Mik'tu and warn her about things, but doesn't seem to keen to help. He is more interested in people that acknowledge him coughing and will spark up a conversation with them, for a time.

Found: Within the safe area around the Hearth of Toq.

Perches: Mik'tu found him last resting against the side of the wall outside of one of the large tunnels. He leaves his sword and shield against the wall.

Family: Unknown. He has a strange fondness for Tass.

Nicknames: Vik

Tass
Description/Appearance: A boy of around fifteen. He wears leather armor from the neck down. His skin is darker but his hair is a light blond. He has a bit of accent and is unable to pronounce certain combination of letters.

Personality: He seems friendly. Determined to find whatever he is looking for.

Found: Outside of the Hearth of Toq. He comes up to Vik for advice on if he has found the right mushrooms for someone, but it is unclear as to who he is searching for.

Family: Vik hints the boy has parents within the mushroom forest not too far off and a group of adventurers the boy frequents. Mik'tu has yet to encounter this to find if it is true, and she has not gone in the direction Tass vanishes to.

Nicknames: It's unclear if his name is a nickname for something else or just his name.