Chatterbox: Inkwell

The Kástro Elénchou RP!

Oh, I'm so glad I can finally make it. I've been doing so much worldbuilding, so trust me, this is a very well-done post. AKA, it'll be about five feet long. But all of it's important, so please make sure you read it through.

Kástro Elénchou is a mythical world that houses four major species: the Elves, Dwarves, Fairies, and Dragons. It's small and cut off from whatever lies beyond; adventurers have tried to see, but none have returned. That's not what the RP is about, though.

Kástro Elénchou also has five major landmarks: The woods, mountains, field, caves, and Cliffs. The woods have two parts to it, as the Elves and Fairies share it. A perfectly pruned, endless hedge rises at the border, with wooden doors at certain checkpoints. It's all identification and whatnot to get through. They aren't fantastically strict, or they weren't, at least. Anyway, the woods are called Fyrelor. 

The caves are called Erimer. They're the home of the dwarves, and mostly lead underground. They're rich with minerals and have dwarf-made paths strewn all through them, lighted by torches hung on the walls.

The mountains are called Vainquear. They're the home of the dragons, and they're craggy, with sudden drops and rises of atmosphere and temperature all through them. Only the dragons know all of them.

The field is called Vara, and it's a wasteland. It separates Fyrelor and the Erimer from Vainquear, and it's frightening. It's full of dangers (ie quicksand and poisonous snakes), but over the years travellers created paths through it. They're tedious and long, though, and some try to go the uncharted way straight over Vara. Barely any survive.

Lastly, the Cliffs. They're officially called Merrow, but no one says that-- they're simply the Cliffs. These are the end of the world, and they ring around the edges of Vara, Fyrelor, Erimer, and Vainquear. They're pretty much a straight drop down. Every place except Vara has some sort of border so people don't fall into the unknown.

Here's some slight imagery to help you picture Kástro Elénchou better:

First, imagine a rectangle. Then make it 3-D, with straight drops all around the edges. Add a range of mountains on the left side and put a rushing river surrounding it. Then put some fields. After that comes the woods, whose back faces the right side of the rectangle, and the caves next to it, whose back face the far side of the rectangle.

Each race has its own language, but they also have a Common Tongue which is usually, if not always, the first language. Most species learn their own language at some point, though, except for the dragons, who only learn it if they join the military-- they treat it as a code, and not even the other citizens can be trusted with it. All of the species are ruled by a monarchy, and once a year all the monarchs meet, a different spot each year, and discuss development, trade, etc. They all have their own type of magic.

THE SPECIES

1. Dwarves

Dwarves are short and stumpy, with an average height of about 4'8" fully grown, although they can get taller. They're born muscular and all have dark skin. They aren't much for speed or agility, but their strength is very close to the dragons'. A dwarf's lifespan is a bit longer than a human's, but not by much.

Their magic isn't showy or pretty. They have the magic of the earth. They can sense minerals in the ground, and they can, to some extent, control the soil itself, but it has to be taught. Most other species call them slow; they aren't. They're ponderous, and very wise. They can consider any aspect of a situation and find the right solution for it. However, they aren't the best in terms of speed descisions.

Their occupations are mostly limited to mining, as they live in caves. But this is a very valuable skill, because all the other species love the gems they produce, and thus they have a rich empire.

A bit like the Hammerlings from Castle Waiting, the Dwarves have one problem: they don't have many women-folk. About seven boys are born for one girl, so their population can get rather low.

2. Elves

The Elves from Kástro Elénchou are a bit like the ones from LotR, but don't worry, they aren't exactly the same. For one, they're most surely the most prideful species, and don't deny any praise that comes at them. They're the quickest thinkers of the species, although their thoughts may have flaws. 

An elf's maximum height is 4'8", and even that's unusual. They're very lean and light, which makes them naturally fantastically agile. All elves have very long lifespans, but eighteen is still considered adulthood, and twenty-four is considered the human twenty-four, if you see what I mean. However, they stay younger longer, so a sixty-year-old may look like they're really in their early forties. There are two types of elves:

Light Elves: The Light Elves should really be called Dark Elves, because that's pretty much what they practice: darkness. But it's more the manipulation of light; their magic is camoflage/invisibility (depending on your degree of experience). They all have pretty much silver hair, although it would be identified as blond on Wikepedia, and the same color eyes that seem to glow in the dark. All elves have deathly pale skin.

Dark Elves: Their powers really have nothing to do with darkness, but who will criticize the Founders? Dark Elves have the power of the elements, excluding Earth: Fire, Wind, and Water. Most Dark Elves are trained to hone their abilities on one of these elements, but a special few, especially royalty, can be trained in more than one. Dark Elves have hair the color of midnight and the same color eyes.

The elves live in treehouses connected by bridges that are not built to support the weight of anything heavier than an elf, so dwarven and dragon ambassadors usually have problems. The two types of elves aren't exactly forced to stay apart, but they don't really mingle, either. Each type has a royal family that meets up with the other's on a regular basis.

3. Fairies

The elves call fairy magic frilly and showy, but fairies dissagree. Naturally snooty, they think of their magic as the most useful, as they control nature, particularly plants. They can make things grow, and the more experienced make things shrink. All fairies can fly, but not all have wings.

There are so many different types of fairies it's impossible to list them, but they all have a certain focus of magic that determines their type. Most focuses stay the same down a family line, but some change.

Fairies are the smallest of the species naturally, but using their powers of growth they can grow to an average human size. They vary in race and appearance greatly. They have short lifespans and usually don't live over fifty.

Fairies live more on the ground, making little houses between tree roots. Have you ever seen a Fairy House, or made one? They're actually quite accurate; fairies usually scavenge for or grow their own material naturally.

4. Dragons

The dragons are by far the largest race and the most war-prone. All dragons have wings covered with scales on both sides that they can easily fold into their bodies, and are very, very heavy. These scales are large and practically impenetrable; in order to strike a dragon via scales, you'd have to pry the scale off of its skin and stick something pointy under it, which would a) not kill a dragon and b) be almost suicidal. Dragons have very quick necks and sharp pointy teeth and talons and, yes, can breathe fire from age five. All of this species, however, has one weak spot not covered by scales. Scales stop growing in at about age two, so they soon know where this weak spot is and will quite literally protect it or die, for obvious reasons. The only other vulnerable part of a dragon is its eyes, which are not guaranteed to kill it (but the odds would be in your favor). Dragons have a lifespan a bit longer than a human's.

Besides fire-breathing and flight, which are mostly biological anyway, select dragons practice dark magic. This is the most dangerous and possessive type of magic, and only the most powerful are allowed to try it. 

The dragon ruling system is rather like England's: the royal family is really just a figurehead that goes to meetings and repeats what other people have told them. The real people in control are the generals of the military.

Most dragons have black, purple, or dark blue scales, excepting the royal family, who always have golden scales. Generals use this scale polish daily that makes their scales a dark green.

Also, dragons are probably the most gruesome of the species. Each ones have their own servants (mainly animals-- ie the elves horses, dwarves foxes), but dragons take it to another level: they'll kidnap people of other species, brand them with the mark of a dragon (simply a claw, usually placed on the right bicep), and name them slaves.

There! That's the species information.

Finally we can get on to the good stuff!, you might be saying.

Not quite. I'm not done.

*groans*

Here's the plot.

The dwarves, elves, and fairies are currently at war with the dragons. They're tired of their lot-- a particularly nasty general by the name of Plutarch has decided he wants to eliminate the other species entirely, making Kástro Elénchou a world of dragons. Obviously, the othes wouldn't stand for that. This RP starts a few months after war is officially declared and the three species have made an alliance.

Is that it?
Just rules and charrie sheet now.

1. Please, no OP charries. I encourage creativity, but be realistic. A peasant dragon is not going to know Dark Magic, and an eleven-year-old Dark Elf is not going to be a master of all three elements.

2. Let's have some variety. Your dragon doesn't have to be completely evil, and not all fairies are stuck-up pretty people-- you can do fantastic stuff with all four species. Likewise, let's not have four Light Elves and one Dark one.

3. War is war. I'm not saying charries will be dying left and right, but please be prepared to sacrifice yours if need be. You can always come back with another.

4. Have fun!

Now do we finally get to just make our charries, St.?

After you read through the elaborate and detailed charrie sheet and its explination, yes!

AGH!

Name:

Age: Take your species' lifespans into account here

Species:

Type: Only if applicable. This includes fairies-- you can make up a type, if you'd like.

Status:

Appearance:

Personality:

Magic: If applicable. Remember to make it realistic.

Magical Item(s): Again, if applicable, and it has to be realistic. A peasant fairy will probably have, if anything, some sort of hand-made, hand-enchanted artifact, not something that would cost a million dollars.

Position in War: 

Other:

Before I make my charrie, here's a little test to make sure you read over all the information... no, just kidding. Here's my charrie.

Name: Selene Lupin

Age: 18

Species: Elf

Type: Light

Status: Princess

Appearance: The customary silvery-blond hair, long and straight and left loose. At about 4'5", she's about average for elven height and probably won't grow any more. She usually wears long pants and shirts with long sleeves, usually with light mail over the latter. She wears a belt carrying a single knife and often wears a black cloak (but rarely puts up the hood).

Personality: Rash but quick-thinking, Selene is a bit different than most princesses, even the cliché "rebellious" ones. She's usually obedient and has a lot of free time spent practicing fighting manouvers. At eighteen, she's mostly matured, although elves don't have nearly as crazy teenage years as humans do. She's serious, speaks rather softly, and is very quick to defend herself.

Magic: Because of her occupation (see "Position in War"), she's more than average is most stealth magic, including invisibility and silence (which is not that difficult, considering and elves' average weight).

Magical Item(s):  As a princess, she wears the crown that is passed down throughout the royal family. It has the same build as Thorn's crown from Bone, except made of white metal with a single opal pressed at the center of the forehead. The crown is said to enhance magical ability.

Position in War: Assassin and spy. Her position as an assassin was decided very early on in her life, whith her a part of the discussion. She was built for it, and is now an official one in the elven military.

But why a spy? She's being blackmailed, although by now it isn't blackmail as much as ownership. A few years ago, as war was being threatened, she recieved a message from the dragons. She has the brand mark, but being an expert at deception (you have to be, to be an assassin), it was never revealed. She tries to give away as little as possible, because she is fiercly loyal to her species.

Other: One, she owns a horse the same color as her eyes. His name is Lux, and he was gifted to her during her first birthday.

Also, I've got a request: could someone make a crush for Selene? I feel we really don't usually have a lot of romance plots in the CB, and if played out correctly they serve as good subplots. You don't have to, but it would be great if there was one.