» Fri Jul 26, 2013 12:27 am The humans of the fourth era, locked in a perfect storm that threatens to tear the Empire, and even its component Kingdoms apart, look fondly on the time of Tiber Septim, great hero-God of man kind. And why not - when in the face of impending elven domination, is it not natural to look to a time when you were on the winning side? Few dare to think back to a time when the elves dominated the nine provinces, and lorded over the races of men in a unthinkable reversal of the modern status-quo.
But nearly five-thousand years ago, when the Dwemer still crept in their gilded-caverns and men still dwelled on the frozen shores of Atmora, the humans of Cyrodiil found this to be just the case. The Ayleids, Wild-Elves, great architects of the White-Gold tower brimmed with animosity for the brittle men that infested their homeland. With the sword arm of the Daedra they shackled them in chains to act as slaves in the growing empire.
This was until, by the grace of Akatosh and the Aedra, the first Hero of mankind was born. In the city of Sardavar Leed, to a tribal, enslaved mother and father, Saint Alessia took her first steps towards freeing her people. By her death, the Ayleids had been deposed, and humans sat atop the White-Gold Tower on their Ruby Throne. Her story is one of triumph over tyranny, and also, given the state of the elves not one-hundred years after her rule, not without a measure of irony.
Nonetheless, it needs to be told...
THE 'CHAT'::
Thanks for reading, first. I know it was a bit of a mouthful, but if you made it through then we're off to a good start. As you no doubt gathered, this is the sign up thread for a RP set in the time of the Alessian Rebelions. When we start, we'll be in the midst of the Ayleid Empire, and by the end, it will have been torn assunder. If you need to brush up on your lore, here's a brief overview of the time from UESP:
http://www.imperial-library.info/category/tags/amulet-kings/
I really think this is an area of the lore that isn't explored enough, and I know a couple of dedicated writers working through the story would breathe deserved life into the tale. I had originally planned to write this as a fan-fic novel, but since I realised that fan-fics go down faster than the English after an Ibizan "night on the town" (there's a double meaning there), I resolved to open it up to the crowd, and make it a collaborative effort. If you want to read my fan fic, to get a feel for the idea, it's in my signature. Also, since I was planning to go solo on this, I may be a tad defensive on the direction of certain key characters. I'll reserve them for now (you can create your own, obviously), but if you want to take on a character with a little more impact but also a little less freedom, then we can talk.
DA GUIDLINES (Because 'Rules' is a nasty word):
1) All of the usual, no god-modding, no all powerful characters, no all-seeing eyes, no six slaves or vampires who substitute the blood for...well...six. In fact, no vampires at all.
2) I want the posts to feel as close to chapters as they possibly can. As such, if it is at all possible, should two characters spend a long time together (more than a page of posts), you should have only one person make the post. I don't mind if you work it out in PM, if you play out the chapter and then post that, or if you alternate who writes, but I'd like to keep to that rule to avoid loosing your place and hitting the post limit too early. (Assuming there's interest).
3) Restrict your characters to being Ayleids or Imperials. The main story will be in Cyrodiil. As you'll see when I post the "spine" of the story, to give us a loose direction, we will be encountering nords, but not for a while. However, if you come up with a really good reason for another race, I'll happily accept it.
4) Remeber to use PM extensively, and to leave a brief summary of your post in this thread. Also, if you feel like talking a long break, or are just bored, don't be afraid to notify us. Better you let us know and we work you out, or work round your problem, than hit a brick wall. I won't judge you.
5) There's no five, I just wanted a fifth list-point.
THE 'SPINE'
This is the rough direction our story will take. This is to fit into the lore, and to what I as originally planning in the novel. They are distant points, lots of room for negotiation.
1) The story will start with a tribe of slaves released by their master, Lord Marihaus of Sardavar Leed (friends of the lore will know the name, and note the change. Trust me, it will work.). They are heading toward the border with Elsweyr to 'Stay with the cats'. You can also write for an Ayleid reacting to the events.
2) The slaves are persued by High Justiciar Hallion, an Aylied with a unique parental but disdaining view of humanity. Eventually, they are re-captured and the leader of their tribe (Alessia's father) is killed.
3) They are led North to work on the new city in the Jerals, The Citadel at Sancre Tor. On the way, it is revealed that Morihaus (who is now all but a slave) released the tribe as a dowry in return for "marrying" Alessia, who had taken a strong liking to. We need to go into detail of the Ayleid's affiliation with the Daedra and their abuse of that compact.
4) Arriving at Sancre Tor, Alessia prays to Akatosh, and receives her visions. The slaves manage to free themselves, and with the navigation of Morihaus (who has gained to moniker Man-Bull, due to his tendency to grunt disdainingly, and his aquired low status in Aylied society), escape over the Jeralls and into Skyrim.
5) The group meets with the High King, who learns for the first time of the Ayleid oppression of his fellow man. He commits to helping to free the slaves, though not all of his vassals and sub-vassals agree, fearing the power of even a fragmented Ayleid rebuttal.
6) They leave Skyrim to liberate Sancre Tor. At some point, Pelinal Whitestrake wonders into camp, covered in blood and without memory of anything before he arrived.
This is all of the spine so far - we'll add to it as the RP progresses. If it's too stringent, the again, I'll try and work it round the group, but I think a good direction will let us focus more on character.
CHARACTER SHEET (Finally!)
NAME:
GENDER:
AGE:
BRIEF HISTORY: (Put emphasis on life lessons, personality rather than events. You're most likely a slave)
HAIR COLOUR:
EYE COLOUR:
HEIGHT: (Tall, small etc. not measurement)
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES:
APPAREL: (Rags for now, but when you're freed you can don whatever you like)
FAVOURED WEAPONS:
MAGICAL SKILL: (Likely none, unless given a good reason in brief history)
TREASURED POSSESION:
LIST OF CHARACTERS:
(Will add bios later)
Alessia - ThoseTolerableNoobs (May relinquish if I can keep Morihaus)
Morihaus - (Me for now, will relinquish for anyone willing to work closely with me)
Hallion - High Justiciar to the Ayleid Kings of the Heartlands. If you want to take him, I'll PM you about how I envisaged him, but I relinquish all control
Chieftain (Alessia's father) - Open
Mule - A character I created in my fan-fic. I quite like him, so anyone can take him, but he's not needed.
AND, OF COURSE, YOUR OWN CREATIONS!
And last of all, thanks for reading, and I look forward to seeing your character sheets!
