An RP about growing up in a nation afflicted with war, and also being a magical girl and fighting evil space aliens.
Your home, the Republic of Lysir, is an ancient and beautiful nation of tall mountains and lush jungles all the way to the frozen sparkling ocean of the north. For as long as you have been alive, it has been at war. You never really understood why the war started, it happened before you were born, but you know the gangs and bandits, the foreign soldiers so far from home, the distant sound of bombs at night. You couldn't name every group and interest involved, there are too many and it's not really your problem. Either because you can't leave or you won't, Lysir is your home, war and all.
In a dream, a strange being greeted you, a single orb of deepest blue. He offered you power and a purpose, and despite the danger you took it. Because danger is already everywhere. Because power gives you the chance to do something about it. Because you can make a difference.
Because if you don't, They will take your home.
The Vour have come to Earth. Terrible corrupt flesh with no soul, they pose as humans and plot to use your whole species as a weapon in a conflict of unimaginable scale. In the chaos of your war, they see opportunity to infect and spread undetected, steal and consolidate power until they are ready to rule the world.
Name:
Personality:
Appearance:
Hair Color: (Purple hair is associated with Lysir's royal line, who were all beheaded 30 years ago when Great Leader took power. Before then, the silver-haired Gyr were slaves to the Lysir state while ashen-haired Ham people enjoyed a more comfortable place in society. The Aciremen across the ocean to the north have green, blue, or pink hair, people from the old Kyrans empire to the west have black, brown, or blond hair, and the Youran mercenaries employed by Sovereign nearly all have jet black hair.)
Eye Color: (Blue eyes reflect a brave soul, green a prudent one. Those with yellow eyes are sometimes said to be especially blessed by god, though no doctrine endorses this. The brown-eyed are unconcerned with unimportant details. Red eyes are seen as a bad omen, naturally, or else a blessing of 'interesting' fortune. Conspiracy theories abound about those with purple eyes, for obvious reasons.)
Age: (Player characters are between 13 and a half and 14 and a quarter years old.)
Backstory: (How have you survived this long? What have you seen and done? Did you take this power just to save the world, or are there other reasons?)
Family: (Who are your parents, your siblings? Can you rely on them? Can they rely on you? If not, who CAN you rely on?)
Appearance in Magical Form: (This is a special form that you can transform into, enhancing your magical abilities. This generally involves a wardrobe change, but can also have minor physical effects, like glowing eyes or a change in skin color. Magical forms are always bright and attention-grabbing.)
Prime Virtue: (A positive character trait, like Bravery or Kindness. It just has to be something that your character thinks is good and is willing to strive for. Influences magical development.)
Team Role: (What role do you have on a team? Do you intend to be a healer, a damage dealer, something more strange?)
Stats: (Spread 3 points between these. Don't worry, a +0 isn't bad.)
Strength: +0
Endurance: +0
Agility: +0
Awareness: +0
Charisma: +0
Knowledge: +0
Health: Fine!
Mana: 20/20
Inventory:
Plain Clothing (can be specified)
Backpack of odds and ends
Water Bottle
Military Rations x5
Powers: (All player characters start with the following two powers. You may start with additional powers at GM discretion, and will learn more as the game progresses.)
Radio Telepathy: No cost. Instinctual, Capillary.
Allows for telepathic communication with other magical beings. Also allows one to listen in on mundane radio transmissions. Telepathic transmissions are in turn detectable by mundane means, but are instinctively encrypted, sounding like jumbled static though mundane technology.
Magical Form: 1 Mana to transform, 0 to revert to mundane form. Instinctual, Transformation.
A basic and safe form of transformation magic which lightly modifies your body and soul to better carry magic. While in a magical form, any other magic you use is much stronger, but your mundane abilities are a bit weaker, due to being detached from such concerns. In addition, you will be much more noticeable and possibly identifiable as a magical being. If you lose consciousness or run out of mana, you will harmlessly revert to your mundane form.
Name: Icatrina Shinrasia
Personality: an erratic mixture of arrogance and humility, of callousness and kindness, she tries to put on a tough and proud face but this facade often falls apart when tested, instead revealing the timid and caring person beneath.
Appearance: pixie cut hair and tan skin, this girl wears cheap but practical and well-maintained shirts and trousers, secured by a simple belt. She remains generally wary of her surroundings, but is especially alert to the sounds of artillery, beginning to move to cover before she even has time for conscious thought.
Hair Color: Silver
Eye Color: Amber
Age: 13.6
Backstory: Icatarina was born to a loving, but poor, family, that worked as street vendors, selling various seasonal foods at mobile cart on the side of the street in town. Her older brother, Johnathan, doted upon her, and had bright prospects, earning himself an academic scholarship to a local university, and regularly tutored Icatarina, helping her learn about the world around them, and it seemed quite likely they'd be able to work their way up in the world. However, when the front lines drew close, the university Johnathan attended was deemed a military target, one worthy of shelling, and he would never return home afterwards.
Icatarina's parents didn't take this well, they grew cold, distant. They withdrew from each other and society, and she was neglected, neither of her parents able to handle their grief enough to take care of their remaining daughter. And so she ran away to the home of a friend, Violet, that lived on the far side of town. after learning of the situation, Violet convinced her parents to let Icatarina stay for a week. It turned out to be a very long week.
On the fourth day of her stay at Violet's, the city was invaded. Violet's home was on the far side from the invaders, but Icatarina's was quite close, and was amoung the first to be occupied. This separation was unfortunate, but it wasn't the worst of it. On the dawn of the next day word began to spread of atrocities being commited by the invaders. Citizens were being dragged out into the streets and executed en-masse, and the invasion was continuing to progress.
Violet's parents decided it was too dangerous to stay, and so the family fled the city, taking Icatarina with them. Fleeing as far and as fast as they could, away from the front lines. It has been over a year since then, and Icatarina still hasn't recieved word on the fate of her parents. But with what happened in her hometown... it seems likely that she's become an orphan. Violet's parents are still looking after her, and have proven to be excellent people, doing well by both her and by Violet, but their work keeps them busy until late into the night, making up for losing their customer base with extraordinary hard work and perseverance, keeping them all clothed, fed, and sheltered, but at the cost of being busy the overwhelming majority of the time. Violet and Icatarina both still are trying to study, to maintain their education progress despite all that has happened to them, but Violet was struck by shrapnel from an artillery shell during their escape, crippling her right leg. Icatarina herself however, remains, physically, unscathed, and the two of them are still on excellent terms, their shared trauma making them nearly sisters, even without any blood relation, and they do what they can to protect each other.
Family: Blood parents missing, assumed dead, blood sibling confirmed dead. Lives with friend's family, plumbers, supportive but distant and unavailable. Friend (Violet) is supportive and highly involved.
Appearance in Magical Form: Icatarina gains a dark green frilly dress with bright green trim secured by a large green ribbon tied at the back. this is acompanied by matching lace gloves, a wide-brimmed green hat, pair of green low heels, and a dark green umbrella with light green frills around the edges. Her hair grows out, extending substantially down and out, curling into tight ringlets that drape widely around her down to her hips. Her eyes however stand out as they acquire a faint glow that grows brighter as she makes use of greater magic, and anytime she makes rapid movements or gestures a faint glowing green trail of flickering light or heatless flame is briefly left behind, tracing her movements.
Prime Virtue: Kindness, though she will refuse to admit it, she actively strives for it, attempting to return the great kindnesses she's recieved from both her families, blood and friend alike, onto the world at large.
Team Role: Shaper / Healer, uses battlefield shaping, meaning terrain adjustments, barriers, and zone effects, and is a secondary healer when needed, though it is not her specialty. Her job in combat is to provide extra options to her allies and limit options for her foes, and to provide a bit of a safety net in case things go wrong for teammates.
Name: Diane Ngoumi
Personality: Shy. Persistent with tasks. Somewhat secretive. Somewhat obsessed with fire and lightning and explosions.
Appearance: Short and skinny. Unnaturally long hair and red eyes.
Hair Color: Blue
Eye Color: Red
Age: 13 years, 339 days.
Backstory: Evacuated from a demolished town, after spending weeks hiding in basements. Paired up with her closest relatives. Several close encounters with fires and explosions, including using plastic explosive as cooking fuel. Not an enjoyable experience, but did see attackers get blown up in turn.
Family: Orphaned, but with an aunt and uncle. They have one child of their own.
Appearance in Magical Form: Red nail polish, platform shoes, and goggles with various steampunk-esque accessories. Tiara with purple gems.
Prime Virtue: Creativity
Team Role: Blaster. Casts the spells what makes the peoples fall down.
Name: Anna-Leigh
Personality: Quiet, methodical, and studious, Anna-Leigh could easily be mistaken for a model child. However, as her grandmother is quick to point out, she's has inherited a strong streak of rebellion from her mother. Unlike others, however, this seldom results in outbursts in the moment. Anna-Leigh is someone who, when the time calls for it, commits to misbehavior the same quiet patience and tenacity as everything else. No, this rarely helps her get out of trouble. Yes, she does usually succeed at whatever rebellion she had planned. No you should not ask about the wine incident.
Appearance: Slight of frame, Anna-Leigh is slightly on the taller side for her family - but this is saying only that she'd come just short of average. Long fingered and slim boned, Anna-Leigh tends to neutral or contemplative expressions - and her poor vision since birth means that while her facial expressions are honest - she's terrible at reading them and her own are a bit... off. Shy by nature, and having spent much of her young life training as a weaver, she rarely draws attention to herself and is often half-shied back from any significant grouping of people.
Hair Color: Jet black, brindled moderately with blonde.
Eye Color: Grey blue, progressive congenital christmas-tree cataracts.
Age: Inexact, between 13 and a half and 14 and a quarter years old
Backstory: How Anna-Leigh came to be is a story repeated many times and many places in eras of war; of a woman enchanted by a strange soldier from far away, with tales of foreign shores and incredible places that she'd never see. Naive innocence, poor decision making, and youthful exuberance saw Anna-Leigh's mother sleep up with a mercenary lover and get herself a child as prize. The mercenary, shockingly, did what mercenary's are well known for and left with his company - consequences uncared for - and left his young lover to raise the child alone.
Naturally this had a slight effect on the young mother. As war kept on and times remained hard, Anna-Leigh was born but knew no siblings. Her hair marked her mixborn heritage plain, and from birth she was slight of frame, quiet, and with weak vision that worsened in bright light. While the only life she'd ever known was one set in the shadow of conflict, her youth was ever defined by a growing knowledge of how little strength she possessed. Her vision grew worse each day, blind in darkness and dazzled by light, twin features which saw her grow only as a somewhat reclusive and crepuscular youth. As her mother, and her mother before her, and so forth into dimmer history, Anna-Leigh apprenticed under her mother as a rugweaver - working by rhythm and texture far more than by sight. Yet, as she entered her early teenage years, the knowledge of her weakness to the rest of the world became ever more contrasted against a rising certainty that something was terribly wrong. The world had a thread out of place. Something was wrong, something hidden, a snag that was ruining the weft of the world. She took power because she knew that the near-blind weavergirl she was would never find that strained thread, and, perhaps, there was enough of her young mother in the shy child that she just wanted to do something terribly impulsive.
Family: Youran mercenary of a father, unknown location, and whose primary contribution to Anna-leigh's childhood has been inspiring Anna-Leigh's mother to tirades filled with words that Anna-Leigh is DEFINITELY not supposed to know about yet. Anna-Leigh's mother, Leigh-Iana, is a mid-weaver under the tutelage of her own mother; Master Weaver Iana-Deirn. Master Weaver Deirn-Trinii, Anna-Leigh's great grandmother, is still around though her mind is often lost in a haze of years and contents herself more to augur futures in looms rather than deal with weaving herself. As far as uncles and grandfathers, there are scarce few remaining after years of strife and Anna-Leigh spends little time with them. She has several cousins, but her relatively frail constitution and waning vision have separated her from them considerably. It is truly only her mother and her grandmother that she feels very close to and knows she can rely on for anything. She feels very close to great-gran, but Anna-Leigh has learned that great-gran is to be very much loved and very little trusted.
Appearance in Magical Form: The colored threads and brocade on her garments take life, shifting and moving to form shapes and patterns of her own will. Their colors can't change completely, but can alter their saturation and luster considerably as well as bleed into near colors. The fabric itself becomes slightly animate, flowing and unencumbering regardless of the amount of cloth in the garment. Anna-Leigh's cataracts clear during magical form.
Prime Virtue: Diligence. The most beautiful of tapestries is placed a thread at a time, the loftiest ascended managed by repetition of the smallest steps.
Team Role: More Strange. Combat Analyst, the team member who can put others in the position to weave together their abilities for combinations or identify critical weaknesses in the opponents strategy or being.
Name: Seven
Personality: Quiet, yet firm, Seven rarely repeats herself when she speaks, whether expecting it to be useless or expecting obedience. She dearly hopes people will receive what they are due for their actions, whether good or bad, and is pressed to ensure they do where she can. Her primary driving force is split between spite for her mother and a desire to ensure nobody suffers what she does without cause. Has an occasional tendency to refer to herself in the third person, a lack of care for names, and an unusual fondness for the color grey.
Appearance: Unusually skinny for a girl her age. Her hair is cut short to just above her eyes, and she often doesn't care enough to clean herself if she gets dirty. Regardless of her current emotions, her default expression is a glare.
Hair Color: A dull grey, matted by dirt and ragged from lack of care.
Eye Color: Chocolate eyes, vibrant enough so as to seem to shine in the light.
Age: 14, four days past her birthday.
Backstory: Born from a mistake her mother couldn't be bothered to correct, Seven was hardly a beloved daughter, especially with how busy her mother was- to the point where her mother left her unnamed(though as petty vengeance, Seven has done the same to her mother wherever possible). Left to her own devices for the majority of her youngest years, she- as was inevitable -was caught peeking through her mother's files. Her mother, unwilling to risk anything more severe occurring, yet also unwilling to dedicate more time to this child, decided she was done humoring the maternal obligation she felt. Seven was quietly moved to an isolated cell upon her mother's orders.
Seven couldn't say how long she spent there. A grey box, large enough to almost be called spacious. It almost looked like it was designed to rehabilitate prisoners, except that someone gave up halfway through designing it. It resembled an apartment, closet and kitchen and bedroom all, if not for the lack of any exit, and the fact everything was colored in the same, colorless, featureless grey. She can't say how long she spent there, but she sees it perfectly every time she closes her eyes.
She made a rough form of counting the days, eventually, guessing by the deliveries of food and water she occasionally received, but she never really bothered with it, believing it didn't matter to someone who lived in a box- until eventually, the door opened. A guard she had never seen before, wearing colors Seven didn't remember seeing before. He politely informed her, upon taking her hand, that the prison was under new management, and that she had committed no crime under the new laws by which it operated.
Out Seven was walked, guided by the guard that had freed her. One day later, dreaming in a bunk provided to her, she was offered a deal.
Family: Seven's mother was the warden of a prison camp. Born from a careless dalliance with a co-worker in the military police before she was promoted to her current position, her mother only seemed to care for her out of obligation. Seven never met her father- really, she doubts he knew she existed. Needless to say, she doesn't exactly talk with either of them anymore. She holds a fondness for the group that set her free, though she never bothered to learn their names.
Appearance in Magical Form: Seven's sewn additions to her jumpsuit turn into chains, weightless to her yet hard steel to others. Her now-chain tassels are adorned with matte-grey locks, and the chains looped around her body flow down to form a woven skirt. As her energy runs dry, her eyes slowly fade to grey, returning as she restores energy outside of her magical form.
Prime Virtue: Justice. What is good must be upheld by rule of law.
Team Role: Debuffer/Hexxer
Name: Kora Limestone
Personality: Aggressive and enthusiastic, constantly looking for new challenges to overcome and testing people to see if they're predators or prey.
Appearance: Tall and athletic for her age, with shaggy silver and black hair and vibrant red eyes. Usually grinning and balling her fists, and covered in cuts and bruises.
Hair Color: Striped silver and black
Eye Color: Red
Age: 13 and 7/10ths
Backstory: Kora's spent most of her life getting the shit kicked out of her for being the bastard daughter of a murderous savage and a treacherous whore. This got progressively more difficult as she leaned into her mercenary heritage, and now smaller packs tend to run from her rather than the other way round (the butcher and his son both completely dumpster her without fail and then call her a filthy rat, however). She took the power because it really didn't occur to her to pass up something that would make her tougher.
Family: Nessa Limestone works as a clothes washer and sometimes cook at a hotel near the docks, and doesn't like her daughter very much because she's a selfish brat who's always causing problems. Kore is a Youran mercenary who doesn't like kids, so Kora intends to kick the shit out of him to force him to like her at some point. Nabel (5 and 1/12) and Boros (3 and 1/3) are Kora's silver-haired younger brothers, and the only ones who find Kora's antics hilarious despite being bookworms themselves. Their father Kesh Southriver is a miner who's usually not in town, but has a complicated relationship with Nessa when he is, and thinks she ought to ship Kora to the military or mines already. Both of their parents try to force the younger boys towards scholarly pursuits to get cushy jobs when they grow up. Kora's only reliable friend is a wispy girl with both purple hair and eyes named Nait Lantan, whose family are gravekeepers (and suspected ghouls). The two have very little in common aside from weird looks on the street, but Nait sometimes recommends books for Kora's brothers and Kora sometimes helps haul or ferry grave-related objects.
Appearance in Magical Form: Her eyes glow incandescent red, and her hair transforms into a writhing mane of red and orange reminiscent of flames. A wildly grinning demon mask covers her face, and spiked crimson armor covers her entire body, notably oversized elbow/knee length gauntlets and boots.
Prime Virtue: Tenacity
Team Role: Tank
Name: Francesca Richter
Personality: An exuberant and endlessly inquisitive young woman, Francesca cares deeply for every person and every animal she meets. This doesn't mean, however, that she understands them, try as she might to ask them about every little thing she can think of. She has a great degree of difficulty realizing others have different views, different desires, and in particular that they dislike much of what she thinks is wonderful. This has never bothered her, though; she is certain everything will turn out well regardless.
Appearance: Taller than average, and a little overweight. She wears white pants, a heavy belt, and a long white coat, all festooned with many pockets and pouches--half of which tend to be filled at any given moment. She only ever wears heavy boots (much to the chagrin of the maids), and of course, she's virtually always wearing a smile; you're never full dressed without one, after all!
Hair Color: Blonde
Eye Color: Purple
Age: 14.25
Backstory: Francesca, unlike most of her peers, has lived quite a comfortable life. Her family--her father, really--has always been wealthy and well-connected. She grew up with experienced tutors to teach her about any subject she desired--which in practice, was "most of them"--and with a loyal staff of servants to attend to her every need. What she lacked, growing up, was parental love and affection. Her mother died earlier than she can remember, and while her father has always paid close attention to her, in her eyes she was always an interesting project of his--a human he could mould and control, rather than a daughter.
Not that Francesca has minded her upbringing. Anything she has ever wanted, she has been granted, or educated on why she does not truly want it. She has never lacked for friends; after all, virtually everyone in her home is contractually obliged to take care of her, and be her friend. She has never believed she was mistreated, or victimized; after all, she has constantly been told of the suffering and destruction happening just beyond her sight. She has never lacked for purpose; after all, she's always known she wanted to be a doctor, and always been reassured that she could become the greatest doctor in the world, if only she kept studying.
She accepted her power because it seemed obvious. She's always been destined for greatness, as anyone born to such a high station. And while a doctor can accomplish a lot, mere humans are rather limited in what they can do. Humans are deeply flawed, and suffer constantly for it; doctors only really work to stop the bleeding, but human nature is immutable and permanent. Unless, of course, one were to gain enough power to change that?
Perhaps Francesca can cure all of humanity.
Family: Just her father. Her mother is long dead, she was the only child, and her father never really had any interest in producing heirs anyway. The fact that Francesca exists at all is more due to politics and the expectations of married couples than any interest on his part. It's questionable whether Mr. Richter truly loves his daughter, but he's also never avoided spending money on her.
Outside of blood, Francesca does feel quite strongly for many of the staff that have raised her. She considers the head maid and her assistant to be "mothers" that she can come to with any concern (though each usually sends her to the other whenever possible). She considers Dr. Cross, a surgeon who has been tutoring her for several years, to be her inspiration and role model. And she considers "Jack", a grumpy old one-armed butler, to be her friend--though the man vehemently disagrees, and constantly tells her gory stories of war in hopes she'll leave him alone. She never does.
Appearance in Magical Form: Francesca's wardrobe changes little in her magical form. She wants to have access to what's in her pockets, after all! Magic keeps her spotlessly clean at all times, and also gives her gloves that run to her elbows. Sometimes, if necessary, she's granted a surgical mask and goggles to protect her face and hide the most peculiar change: her cheeks are split open back to her ears, making her appear to wear a smile wider than her face.
Prime Virtue: Curiousity!
Team Role: Healer / secondary buffer. Wants to use magic to "improve" herself and others, when there's time to experiment.
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