Dhampir Arcane [Now Open!] [Applications Still Welcome!]

[SenselessPi]

In days long past, groups of people fought one another for stakes of land. These groups were mostly of differing races, and their wars spread prejudice and racism against one another throughout the continent. Dragons fought with humans, humans fought with vampires, vampires fought with elves, shapeshifters against all, and so on. There were no two races who allied for very long.

After nearly five hundred years of warfare and death, a single dhampir by the name of Arcunier rose up to quell the war between them. His words convinced the many races that while their differences were many, they shared one thing: bloodlust.

"Do you truly wish for your children to know only war? Do you wish for your descendants to perish simply because you are different than your neighbor? Are we truly so different that we must constantly fight? We bleed, do we not? We cry, we laugh, we feel hope, we feel fear. Will there ever be a day where a dragon can share advice with a vampire? Will there be a day where elves can trade their wares with humans? Will there ever be a day where you can share your bed with someone of another race, but love them as if they were of your own?" he asked the crowds of soldiers. "Do you really wish to die today for a war that will continue tomorrow?"

On and on he spoke, and with each word from his mouth, the soldiers dropped their weaponry. They looked to one another and felt, for the first time, a sense of unity amongst so many differing groups. The dhampir was praised for his wisdom when the blood stopped spilling and was made into a leader for the mismatched group of soldiers he spoke to that day.

No longer wishing for war, the dragons of all colors separated to a mountainous land to the east. The elves took the forests near the dragon country, where the two races eventually intertwined into one. Vampires and humans forged a country there where the last battle had taken place, a country called Dhampir Arcane in honor of the wise half-breed.

Over many centuries, Dhampir Arcane became a melting pot for many races. It was led by the descendants of Arcunier, who became the royal family. Their current leader is the young Queen Erdenier, a full-blooded vampire.

[SenselessPi]

Setting:

Continent of Erchibuka

Dhampir Archane - Largest country on Erchibuka. Houses many races, and takes up the entire western and southern half of the continent. Monarchy.

Aerinichae - Capital of Dhampir Arcane, and also the largest city. Based next to the large Elmina River, which leads to the south coast.

Castle Arcane - Home of the royal family. The castle is set on a very large plot of land and is surrounded by a large courtyard to the front, soldier's training facilities to the western side, and large gardens to the back and east side. Castle Arcane is large and almost pentagonal in shape, and has many towers that rise up from the five story main base. This gives it the appearance of a hydra. The towers join together around the middle, several meters above the castle base, by way of a platform built to connect them. This platform chamber houses an eatery and a recreational hall for the tower's inhabitants (who are royal family members).

District 1 - District 1 is comprised in a large circle around Castle Arcane's grounds. It is home to noblemen and military officials, as well as home to soldiers. It is also home to the Aerinichae Academy, where mages and clerics are taught.

Trading District - Also known as District 2, this is where many marketplaces are based. It is the largest section of Aerinichae, and as such houses everyone in the lower and middle classes.

Docks - Based to the southwest of the main city, the docks accept and send out ships along the Elmina River to the coast. Naturally, sailors make up the citizens of the Docks.


Draekanem - Country of the dragons. Houses the mixed race of elf/dragon hybrids and the full-blooded dragons themselves. Meritocratic Monarchy (members of the royal family are chosen by the people based on their deeds, service to the country, and character). Known for it's lush forests and high mountains that line the eastern end of the continent.

Eskigal - Capital of Draekanem.


Pluthe - Tiny republic to the north of Dhampir Arcane and Draekanem. Races composed mostly of humans and shapeshifters, though dark elves live in the Black Forest located within the country's borders.

[SenselessPi]

Races

Humans - Most common race. The most short-lived of all the races, but reproduce the fastest. Also the most inventive, as most weaponry, architecture, and transport are of human design. The only race least inclined to magical ability.

Vampires - Evolved humans. They feed on blood like normal vampires, though they can also dine on regular food without stomach upset, but can walk about in day time. However, the latter makes them extremely weak and it is preferred by them to only walk around at night, or have a steady supply of nourishment on hand during daylight hours. Known for longevity and beauty. Have second slowest birth rate.

Dhampir - Human/Vampire hybrids. While they are half Vampire, they only retain a few qualities from the vampire parent, such as longevity and immunity to human illnesses. They resemble their human parents in all other aspects.

Dragons - Reptilian beings capable of flight, breath attacks (varies based of what color dragon), and transformation from dragon to humanoid form. Slowest birth rate of all races due to their government placing a limit to dragons born each year. Live the longest out of all the races. All are prone to hoarding precious items.

Draedin - Elf/Dragon hybrids created from centuries of elf and dragon marriages. Thanks to their heritage, they are easily capable of harnessing magic, and also better equipped for defense against it. Forbidden by law to take part in warfare unless absolutely necessary due to the destructive levels of their abilities.

Elves - Beautiful, graceful fey race adept in earth-based magic and fighting. Almost extinct due to Draedin breeding.

Shapeshifters - Human subspecies. Mostly take the form of humans, but can appear to be whatever other race they desire. So little is known about them that most people think them stranger than all the other races.

Dark Elves - Live mostly in the Black Forest within Pluthe. They have a longstanding treaty with the shapeshifters and are allowed to do as they please within the Black Forest so long as they do not attack the native Pluthans. They are taller than regular elves, and more plentiful in their numbers. Known for possessing white, silver or blonde hair, dark grey skin, and red eyes that can see about as well in the dark as humans do in the day. They eagerly attack other races and their own kind if it suits their interests.

[SenselessPi]

External Links

Dhampir Arcane's OOC Thread


Rules

1. Follow Midorea's set T.O.S.

2. For the love of God, no god-moding. This should be a given, people.

3. Must be semi-literate or literate to participate. If someone sends me a profile with extremely poor grammar or chat speak, I'll just delete it.

4. The character limit is three, but I'd like you to have less than that simply because it will be easier for everyone to keep track of.

5. New rules will be amended as I think of them at any time.

6. Everyone can't be a vampire. I realize their appeal, but if this RP has, say, 9 vampires out of twelve players, I'll make people change their race.

7. After you've read the rules, PM me your profile with "Beloved of My Sword" as the title. This way, I'll know you haven't skimmed through everything.

8. You must ask me to play a royal family member of any country, or if you want to play a noble. You must also ask if you want to be a person in employment within Castle Arcane.


Profile

[SenselessPi]

Dramatis Personae

[SenselessPi]

We are now open for applications! Posting will begin as soon as we have at least three people approved for the thread.

I will also send out PMs to the applicants when we have those three people. After the initial posting, whoever applies can post after I put up their profile.

[SenselessPi]

Since it doesn't look like we'll be getting one person soon, those of you who applied already can begin!

[LadyHarpy]

Ava glanced up and down the street at the people going about their business, the occasional passer-by taking a second glance to make sure she was what she was. Then again, a dragon can only expect that of other races so it didn't bother her much. Ava went back to working on the large necklace in her hand, it was the beginning of a opal collar that she had been planning for a long time and had finally collected enough gems for. She flicked her tail back and forth unconsciously and paid no real mind to any of the other people on the street.

[Snacky]

Sou was crouched in the mouth of a little used alley. People where quick to pass their eyes over her without a second glance when she was standing straight. Probably thinking she was some sort of vagrant. So when Sousseaux got even lower, it was almost like she was invisible.

She huffed, crossing her arms. Sou had followed a lead that there was some commotion going on. Normally nothing too interesting. But she'd heard it involved a dragon. Now that was a big deal. Unfortunately, it turned out to b a dud. There was a dragon all right, Sou was rather surprised that that part had been truth. But she wasn't doing anything illegal, threatening, or even mildly interesting. Just making a necklace. Good for her. Sou sighed again and mentally shook her fist at small towns people. Anything was liable to be big news to them. Settling back, sou adjusted her glasses so they sat farther up her nose, un aware of the light that flashed off the thick lenses.

[LadyHarpy]

A flash of light caught Ava's attention and she looked up from her work. She tensed and her tail froze mid-swing as she started at the woman in the alley. She had never be stared at so intensely before so he cocked her head to the side and raised a scaled eyebrow.

[SenselessPi]

The imposing structure that was Castle Arcane looked out over the great city of Aerinichae and its next door Elmina River like a collared hydra over its lair. In some lights, the castle was a great, shining black-stone building that stood for Dhampir Arcane's great power and influence. In other lights, mostly those of the night itself, Castle Arcane was a monster. The citizens did not see it as such. Yes, the country was ruled mostly by vampires in the past few centuries, but those vampires had led the country to prosperity at the expense of those who dared to try and stand in their way. Castle Arcane was proof of their power. The vampires themselves toiled to build it, using no help besides that from shapeshifters and the stronger races. It was only fitting that such an enormous compound rested in the very heart of the largest country on the Erchibuka continent.

Inside the castle were many long, tall, and wide hallways. They were rife with the Gothic architecture of civilizations past, with narrow arches and small statues on several columns. The audience chamber, second only to the grand ballroom in size, was the greatest example of elegance to be found in the castle. From the magically protected archways - spelled so no one could enter the chamber without the queen desiring them to - that opened into it, the chamber yawned out several meters until it reached the very end. At that end sat the dais on which the royal throne sat. Great red satin curtains hung down from the ceiling and were arranged in a way that they bundled up behind and around the walls behind the throne.

Queen Erdenier rested against the throne her own mother sat in not too long ago. The throne was crafted of ivory, and would have been extremely uncomfortable if not for the contrasting black cushions that had been worked into it. The queen herself was a further contrast to the ivory chair.

At eighty-six years old, Erdenier was little more than a child as far as vampires were concerned. Her skin was pale, almost the color of the throne on which she sat, as it was for most of her kind. In startling contrast to her skin were her eyes, which were a bloody red. While startling to humans, such eyes were common amongst her fellow vampiric brethren. Her hair was blonde, somewhat resembling the sun she rather disliked, and was fashioned into several buns and braids held tightly to her head. Such a hairstyle showed off her face. Her profile was a noble one, with high cheekbones and a pointed chin, and generally "sharp" features. She bored the look of being perpetually irritated and ready to snap at whomever gave her reason to do so. Her robes were colored black - again to contrast with her new seat of power - with intricate patterns of scarlet snaking up the fabric from the cluster of it that lay at the hem of her robes. Her body, save for her hands and everything above the neck, was all but impossible to see thanks to the robes, but she liked it that way.

The day was much like the others she went through. Triyel Memina, her Court Magus, would arrive and tell her the goings-on of the Aerinichae Academy. After that, her generals and other advisers would convene with her on their own ends. It was a daily routine she had grown tired of very quickly, but nonetheless carried out because it was her duty. Queen Alma hadn't much liked the task of ruling either, but did it without complaint since there was no one else to do the job.

Triyel Memina soon arrived, resplendent in the green robes designated for the Court Magi to wear. The elf was one of the queen's preferred council, if only because she got the job done and usually had it done right. It also helped that, much like all other elves, Triyel was easy on the eyes. Rumors abounded that Queen Erdenier only permitted the beautiful into her circle, and given how Her Majesty's court was filled with lovely women and handsome men, it was a rumor well founded.

As said before, Triyel was definitely a pleasant sight. Like all elves, the ears framing her heart-shaped face were long and pointed at the ends. Her blue hair ended close to her knees, and her bangs had a habit of hiding her face at times. Like her hair, her eyes were blue. Their color was attributed to her lineage, as most elves possessed either blue or green, or even blue-green eyes. Thanks to staying up many hours in the night to learn and relearn different spells, her eyes had bags under them more often than not. They stood out against her skin, which was pale - though not as much as Queen Erdenier to be sure - thanks to the majority of her time being spent indoors studying. She was also smaller than most human women, being about about 5'2" or so.

"Your Majesty, the Court is ready to being session." the elf said once the queen had allowed her to desist bowing. With a nod, the vampire queen sat back against her throne.

"Do proceed." she said. Her eyes closed as the elf rattled off the current issues going on inside the walls of the Aerinichae Academy. Magic meant little to Erdenier, though. As Queen, she never went outside the castle walls, and would never truly need it. The few magic spells she knew, primarily of death or an erasing of an enemy's mind, were gathering dust in her mind since they were virtually unused. She also was disinterested in the magic arts thanks to having Triyel and a number of other mages to cast spells for her.

When Triyel had finished speaking, the queen seemed to snap out of her reverie. Clearing her throat, she leaned forward a bit in the chair so her voice might be heard better.

"I suppose all is well then. Proceed as usual." A thought ran through her mind suddenly. "Oh, and what of the Pluthans to the north? No more of those damned shifters are immigrating here, are they?"

The use of curses was supposed to be above the queen, but neither the guards in the room nor Triyel paid any mind to it. Far be it from them to correct the Queen on how to speak. It was also well-known amongst Her Highness's circle that she hated shapeshifters with a passion. None knew why, but she just did.

"As it stands now, no one has reported anything." Triyel answered. Inwardly though, she noted that any shapeshifters wouldn't outright show themselves to be as such in Dhampir Arcane's heart.

Satisfied with the answer, Queen Erdenier shooed the attractive elf from the room. Her military commanders and other council members would arrive soon to give their piece on events. Triyel bowed once more before leaving the audience chamber to return to the Academy.

[SasorizaKitty]

[Current Form: Orange tabby cat]

The Trading District was a wonderful place to hide, and so Jaeymes was making the most of it. The busy marketplace, with people selling goods and supplies...the shapeshifter was doing what he loved to do the most: watching the people. And right now his eyes were on the dragon and the one in the alley.

Of course, his form wasn't his usual...no, he had chosen the shape of an ginger colored tabby cat, a puuuuuurfect form for spying. And now the tom was perched on a wall, watching the dragon with its opal necklace and the spy, giving a very cat-like grin as his thick tail flicked. He hadn't seen a dragon in quite some time...

Perched on a wall only slightly above Sou's head, Jaeymes settled down with his front paws stretched before him and watched, his emerald eyes glinting.

((Sorry it took me a bit to post...and that my post sucks. Ah well.))

[Snacky]

Sou jumped, realizing that yes, the dragon female was actually looking back at her. She quickly averted her eyes, blushing rather a lot. Usually she was so much better at keeping her observations secret. What had given her away this time. Trying to act like she hadn't just been staring, Sou looked for some sort of distraction. She found one in the form of a ginger kitty, perching above her head on the fence. It looked rather pleased with itself, as cats often do. "Caught a plump bird?" Sousseaux cooed, clicking her fingers together and trying to entice the feline down. She had precious few memories of her childhood life left to her. But one impression that Sou kept still to that day was one of cats being bringers of luck and something else. She couldn't have explained why, maybe they had been an animal favored by what ever gods her village had worshiped. Sousseaux also couldn't have said what the other thing they'd been known for was. She didn't let it bother her too much. There was so much missing already that if she sweated the small stuff she'd only drive herself mad. She could still feel the dragon's regard and glanced back. Yup. She was still being watched.

Well, fine then. Sou humphed and stood. Trying to find a little courage, she reached up and gently scratched under the cat's chin before turning for the open street. It seemed to take only a few seconds to cross and find herself beside the working dragon.

"Ah..." Sou stalled. Once she was there, she was unsure of what to say. "May I ask what you are, uh, working on?" She asked at last, rocking onto her toes for a try at a better look.

[LadyHarpy]

Ava watched the woman try to hide her stare by playing with a nearby cat and giggled. She continued to work on her necklace as she watched the woman give up and walk over. She had developed the technique from years of practice and free time, so being able to make a necklace without looking at it was a breeze. Ava stopped her work when the woman spoke.

"It's an opal collar, one of my more simple works."

[SasorizaKitty]

[Current form: orange tabby cat]

Jaeymes only grinned wider as Sou cooed at him, staying where he was as cats often do, playing the aloof feline with great skill. He allowed the chin scratching and gave a wide yawn, watching the girl head off to ask the dragoness of what she was doing. Still curious, he stood and stretched lazily, hopping down from the wall and trailed after Sou.

Tilting his head at the dragon and her work, Jaeymes leapt up onto the table to have a closer look at the opal collar. It was rather beautiful...licking his lips, he looked up at the dragoness and flicked his tail towards the necklace as he spoke. "Simple, you say?" Jaeymes flinched at how high his normally deep voice sounded. It was often hard to speak when in different forms, as it meant a change in the voice box of the creatures...so his voice never turned out well. "It doesn't look simple. Do you have any examples of your more difficult workings?"