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Author Topic: Background For A Stoy Of Mine (Non-GW)  (Read 508 times)

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Offline -Makenshi-

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Background For A Stoy Of Mine (Non-GW)
« on: August 8, 2005, 05:55:14 AM »
This is the basic background to a story in my head called Clandestine Guard, it's set in a Fantasy world. I'll probably revise some bits and add others (I haven't even touched on Daiori [Day-Or-E] yet...) so any/all suggestions, questions and comments are welcome.

Note- Ulei (You-Lay) is the name of the world it's set in.



Magic In Ulei

The best and easiest way to describe how magic works in Ulei is to compare it to thermals, thermals are the invisible (to us at least) forces that allow birds etc. to fly, the hot air in thermals helps lift them higher. It is impossible to see magic in it’s pure (or commonly referred to as ‘thermal’) form, but some are born with a 6th sense often referred to as Mp or Magic Perception.  People with Mp can sense the presence of pure magic, but, like all gifts, it comes in a variety of strengths, many people are born with Mp but for most the sense is so small they barely notice it and when they do they often mistake it for something completely different. On the opposite side of the fence are those who can not only sense exactly where a Magic Thermal (hereby referred to as Mt) is, but also how strong it is.

It takes a lot of work for most people to learn how to channel raw magic, People who are not taught but try to teach themselves often end up seriously harming or killing themselves by accidentally releasing it wrongly, or within their own body. This is part of the reason of the existence of the Clandestine Guard, a large organisation that enforces the law  during everyday life.

The ‘Clandestine Guard’

The Clandestine Guard is a truly ancient organisation, dating back centuries into Urei’s history. It started it’s life enforcing the law but soon became a place for people to learn basic combat, magic and an assortment of other skills. The only catch to this training is that you must serve with the Clandestine Guard for five whole years before you can leave and take up other pursuits.

The Clandestine Guard is mostly made up of ‘Tsorians’ (Sore-Rians]), as it is based in the Tsorian Empire, although there are a few Kiuno (Key-You-Know [said quickly]) too. Full blooded Elves have never been a part of the Clandestine Guard, however they were the ones to train the first generation of Clandestine Guards. Occasionally Half-Elves join up, although few stay around for long, as is their nature. The only other main race are the Jaik, who have not been a part of the Clandestine Guard since the Jaik-Tsorian War, which the Jaik (Jeyk) call ‘The War Of Deceit’. That was over a century ago and, although the Jaiks still do not share much trust with Tsorians, they are slowly getting back on friendly terms with them.

Main Races

There are four main races in Ulei, The Tsorians, Kiuno, Elves and Jaik.

Tsorians are the average person, they are a race of wide talents and a variety of skills, they learn quickly however very few of them ever reach exceedingly high skill in specialised fields such as magic and fighting.

Kiuno are often referred to as ‘The friendliest yet most secretive’ race, this is because while they are very friendly to travellers that wander into the forest villages, offering them a place to stay, food and drink, supplies and other assorted signs of kindness, they are infuriatingly avoidant and vague of subjects they do not wish to talk about and are not a talkative race in general. They have an uncanny eye for body language, for this is their main way of displaying emotion and why they are generally un-talkative, they do not need words to express themselves.

Elves are enigmatic, few have met one, fewer still have ever found an Elvish settlement. They once mingled with the other races often, teaching them all they knew in hopes of bettering them, however they retreated at the end of the Great War, where the Jaik, Tsorians and Kuino fought for dominance. During the war Elves started on all sides, but eventually they stopped fighting and tried reason, when this failed the Elves took it upon themselves to stop the war, they assassinated most of the forerunners and won many skirmishes with the other races. Eventually a truce was called and the war ended, the Elves left and have never returned politically since.

Jaik are born fighters, naturally lean, flexible and agile the children are raised to use weapons as a Tsorian would be raised with a knife and fork. All Jaik’s therefore know at least as much as a rudimentary Clandestine Guard about hand to hand and armed combat, this makes their whole civilian population a ready trained army should the need arise. Indeed it was the Tsorians ignorance of this that lead them to underestimate the Jaiks during ‘The War of Deceit’, for they do not keep an outstanding army, only their own group of ‘police’, called Enforcers.



EDIT- The Daiori (Day-Or-E)

Daiori are ‘mutants’, sometimes the result of a Magical Thermal (Mt) being near or ‘in’ a pregnant women at certain times during her pregnancy, when and how powerful the thermal is will determine the type of Daiori and it’s potency. Daiori are both respected and feared, loved and hated, welcomed and threatened. This is because of the varying forms their mutation takes, some are seen as more ‘normal’ than others.

Daiori Types

Daiori are all named after animals, creatures and monsters, following are the most ‘common’ (and I use this term loosely) types.

Wraiths are typically pale and ill-looking most of the time, often thin . They possess the ability to phase through solid objects, however this poses risks, they need to learn to control their abilities quickly or risk getting stuck in a solid object (killing them) or falling through the ground until they reach the core (killing them obviously). They are a neutral Daiori in that they are both hated and loved, it simply depends what they do. Many Wraiths tend to turn to thievery as it’s made very easy by their ability (if/when they gain control of it), while those that are discovered by the Clandestine Guard become expert infiltrators and deadly fighters, as armour will not stop their blows, nor will flesh..

Falcons are natural born mages, not only can they sense magical thermals intimately but they can summon and manipulate them, not to mention manipulate spells like no other (including those cast at them). Very few falcons live long, their abilities develop very early for Daiori (most Daiori’s transcend in their teens, Falcons are born with their powers there) and as such they experiment with magic well before most would (or even could), which all too often has disastrous effects. Those that do live tend to become power hungry or lead lives that totally revolve around their quest for magical knowledge. They are loners by nature and typically complete bastards/be-atches, even if they aren’t evil.

Selkie are exceedingly rare, not only in their existence, but in the knowledge of their existence. Selkie are shape-shifters, most can only alter themselves to humanoid appearance but the few master Selkies can even change into animals. Most Selkies are picked out by gangs, tyrants or the Clandestine guard to be trained as Assassins or Spies, only great magic users can uncover a Selkie, making them hard to discover until it’s too late. Selkie must be very careful when learnign to shape-shift, as they can alter everythign in their body, organs included, which means if they accidently alter somethign they shouldn't have it would have disasterous effects.

Behemoths are another exception to transcending, they simply grow and grow. The average Behemoths are generally around 7ft, while the tallest one ever recorded was well above 9. They are incredibly tough, strong and naïve, often tricked by others to do bad things as very few behemoths are evil, they are gentle and kind by nature but will defend others in a heartbeat. Behemoths tend to live alone as they are often abandoned, disowned  or generally kicked out of their home due to the cost of their up keeping (they eat a lot of food).

Manti are considered the most dangerous of all Daiori as they are naturally very aggressive and born hunters.  Sharp spines made of bone grow from the sides of their forearms, starting small just below the wrist (typically a few cm’s) but getting to/past several inches just before the elbow joint. They are scorned by most races, leading them to either live in the wild, hunting whatever comes their way, or turning to tyrants and gangs to work as thugs. Either way they often kill other people.



~MTWC
« Last Edit: August 8, 2005, 05:32:47 PM by [User Defined] »
Quote from: IainC
Because spamming the hotkey for a Deathknight's weapon in WoW is precisely the same as learning to use a sword in real life. That's why when Kendo grandmasters fight, they just stand there shouting keystroke combos at each other.

 


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