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Lux Academy is one of the four prestigious Darksbane Academies in the world Of Destain. Built during the last of the Prism Wars, Lux Academy was created as both a defensive fortress and an offensive barracks during the time of the wars. Eventually, when the Voidborn were driven back far enough, Lux Academy, alongside the four other Darksbane Academies, created a web of magical defense with the construction of the Crystalline Trees. Over the centuries, Lux Academy has transformed from a military base to an academy, social hub, and political epicenter in Arturia.
In the world of Destain, there are five major landmasses with four countries inhabiting the lands: Arturia, where Lux Academy resides, Whynsdor where Zenith Academy resides, Delfae where Atera Academy resides, Seralia where Straxis Academy resides, and a broken no man's land area residing in between all countries call The Rupture.
Arturia is the land to the north and resides between the large Ver river and the Erodan mountain range. Arturia is a smaller country that only houses a few larger cities but supplies much farmland for crops and pastures for all four countries. The capitol of Arturia is Glinthaven, a coastal city that is nestled in between the beginning of both river and mountain. Lux Academy resides in Glinthaven and preceded even the beginning of the city as it is currently.
Capitol: Glinthaven
Major Academy: Lux Academy
Minor Academy: Feren Academy
Minor Academy: Harbor Academy
Delfae is a vast desert to the east, home to Atera Academy, the last of the academies to be created and built around a large river and oasis. It has recently become quite the commercial success, a tourist city-state. There is such a vast distance between The Rupture and Delfae that people don't really have a concern with Voidborn. As such, it's become a harbor of safety and health.
Capitol: Delfanos
Major Academy: Atera Academy
Minor Academy: Solas Academy
Seralia is a marshland to the west, home to the first and largest academy, Straxis Academy, and largest populace. In recent years, Seralia shut themselves off from the rest of the world, preferring to focus on their own issues as Voidborn-related concerns lessened in the area. This caused concerns between them and Whynsdor to the south, but there was not much to be done. The current Voidborn issue is actively being stifled from the general populace. most humans in this country believe this has been resolved and over.
Capitol: Alatia
Major Academy: Straxis Academy
Minor Academy: Melnar Academy
Whyndsor is an tundra to the south, home to perhaps the smallest civilization but the most militaristic one. In the early days of the Prism Wars, Whynsdor was a safe haven due to how difficult it was to reach. Most problems that happened in the rest of the world didn't happen in Whyndsor. Thus, this small but resilient nation advanced far faster than other countries. It was Whyndsor's suggestion to create the Crystalline trees and later a radio network to increase communication between the countries. Recently, Whyndsor has been working on instant communication and access to information through an electronic network. Whyndsor has two leaderships: the Zenith military forces and a group of top business officials who run the country.
Capitol: Wheren
Major Academy: Zenith Academy
Minor Academy: Stenick Academy
In between all of the countries is a vast and splintered land where almost no one lives. In the distant past, this land was broken apart in a cataclysmic event later dubbed The Rupture. What remains now is a land filled with most of the remaining Voidborn in the world. Magic is snuffed out here and only the bravest souls dare even venture out here, far away from the support and safety of the Crystalline Network.
Long ago, in the time where history and myth blend together, the land between countries burst open and in the caverns below, the Primordials spilled forth. Creatures devoid of any kind of sentience and endless appetites for magic, they quickly flooded the lands of Destain, ushering forth the beginning of the Prism Wars. Over time, these beings have evolved into what are now called the Voidborn.
The Prism Wars was a centuries-long series of conflicts between humans and the pre-Voidborn Primordials and internal struggles between humans as the societies around the world collapsed under the newfound enemy. Civilizations crumbled, many people died, and the world was in a dire state before the Crystalline Network was created.
The Crystalline Network are four large crystalline structures housed in each of the Darksbane Academies. These crystals absorbed enormous amount of magic and created a web of protection around civilization epicenters. With the creation of these powerful structures, humanity had a place to finally fall back from the fight and regroup. Throughout the centuries, every Darksbane that comes through the halls of the Academies help strengthen the Crystalline Network and keep it running.
The Darksbane are guardians of humanity that study and train from an early age to hone their magic to protect humanity against the Voidborn. Not all who enter the Darksbane Academies actually become a Darksbane, but most do. They are humanity's first line of defense against the Voidborn and often carry with them a large sense of responsibility and reputation.
At the center of their existence, Voidborn are beings that lack the inherent connection of magic and soul. They are not mindless, persay, but lack the magic that is associated with all living beings and lacks the sentience of humans. Not only this, but Voidborn also have some kind of perverse reaction to magic in general.
Most creatures born from the Rupture are called Voidborn. These creatures are beings created out of a fog of darkness so thick that they are almost invisible during nighttime. Often mimicking a form of some kind of predatorial animal found in nature, the Voidborn distorts the form into something more nefarious and disturbing. A common feature of all Voidborn are glowing red eyes that pillow out red smoke. Voidborn absorb all magical attacks thrown at them, so Darksbane have filtered out most direct magic from their arsenal, keeping those archaic forms of combat in the past. Voidborn can only be slain by destroying their face, a porcelain colored mask shows a never-moving face that surrounds the still red eyes
However, this is not without its dangers. Voidborn can evolve and become even more dangerous after absorbing enough magic. For some Voidborn, they have absorbed enough to become almost sentient, it is thought. These beings have been dubbed the Elderbeasts. Elderbeasts are completely corporeal, with a dark gray or black body that can resemble skin or fur if reflecting light. Some Elderbeasts even develop animal-like features made out of that same porcelain, such as tusks or spines sticking out from their body. These Elderbeasts are tracked by the four Darksbane Academies, for the present a huge risk if they get to close to civilization. Through tracking them, it's been posited that these beings migrate and move in packs, showing that they develop more animalistic features the more magic they absorb. Some radicals even believe that the Academies and Darksbane should make an effort into making more Voidborn into Elderbeasts, saying that they are actually less dangerous in the long run.
Although Elderbeasts rarely roam too close to humans, there have been times where this has happened, to devestating results. Humans, if not carefully trained to protect themselves with a strengthened Aura, can be drained of all magic simply by being in close proximity to an Elderbeast. This happens so fast that the humans are left alive but without any sense of sentience or soul. They are nicknamed The Soulless. There are Dead Towns that have seen an Elderbeast go by and leave the entire town a cemetary filled with shambling Soulless. These Soulless are attracted to those with magic and become aggressive when a lot of magic is pooled in an area.
In areas close to the original Rupture or areas of significant Voidborn activity, there have been reports of some kind of dark fungal growth that is quick spreading and gives off similar effects to the Voidborn. Not only that, but the fungal's spores are toxic to animals and humans alike, causing severe illnesses and even death if inhaled for long periods of time without significant magical protection. This has been dubbed the Ungrowth by Darksbane and is a recent discovery that is being monitored closely.
Only the most elite members of the Darksbane venture into areas of The Rupture, and any reports of what goes on in that vast area is kept secret and only on a need to know basis by officials. However, it is well known that the Voidborn is an ongoing affliction on the land that requires constant supervision and vigilance by the Academies and the Darksbane, lest all of civilization gets overrun.
Generally speaking, all living things have magic within them. This has been long stated as a foundational fact within the world for several hundreds of years. The concept of magic has evolved and become refined since the beginning. Most humans only use magic as an amplifier to their normal capabilities and only in occasional tasks. Only Darksbane and Darksbane-in-training use magic for further capabilities.
Elemental magic has been mostly phased out from Darksbane arsenals as large elemental manipulations strengthen Voidborn more than harm them. Modern magical usage revolves mostly around aura manipulation.
An Aura is one's lifeforce. Think of it like a second skin and the fire and fuel for all magical atttacks. All magical effects require using up some of one's aura. If your aura runs out, you die, so make sure to guard it!
People can infuse their auras into physical objects with the technique called Inscription. Inscribing something is etching into an object with something infused by one's aura. This forces the aura into the object. For Darksbane, inscribing is an essential tool to amplify their armor and weapons. Inscriptions can be always on or activated to only be on in certain scenarios, such as from a spoken word or phrase or from contact. Advanced inscription can create more complicated inscriptions that do more specific things with the aura inside the object, and extremely advanced inscriptions can do complex things.
Darksbane Attune their auras into one of five magical fields: Burn, Frost, Shock, Obsidian, and Light. Attuning to a magical field allows one to use abilities or amplify their fighting. You can only Attune to one magical field at a time. Each field allows a magical amplification of one's Aura (and Armor by extension), one's weapon/attacks, and a general magical ability named Burst.
Burn - Aura: burns aura to enhance stamina and speed | Weapon: Adds fire and explosive ranged attack to weapon attacks | Burst: Fire blast or explosion
Frost - Aura: shields armor or aura with ice that blocks minor attacks and slows the attacker | Weapon: augments weapons to leave bursts of ice on impact, can slow and freeze enemies | Burst: Creates a blast of ice or frost
Shock - Aura: supercharges your aura or armor. The next attack on your aura/armor instead charges your aura. With enough energy absorbed, your aura explodes | Weapon: Amplifies weapon with shock. Can either shoot one time burst that electrifies the enemy, or amplify attacks to briefly shock and stun enemy | Burst: electricity blast or sustained lightning
Obsidian - Aura: Sharpen your aura and add thorns to aura. Deflects any attack until thorns are broken, and enemy is damaged for a small amount instead. | Weapon: Sharpens weapon. Any strike or attack shatters obsidian, sending shards spraying. After a moment, shards burst forth for damage | Burst: Creates a blast of obsidian as an obstacle. Obsidian can be cracked by magic to shatter and explode.
Light - Aura: Magnify aura, able to create a minor illusion around aura or expand aura to protect another | Weapon: Bask attacks in light that burst on contact, dizzying enemies. | Burst: Can create light blasts that distracts and blinds enemies
Similarly, Darksbane learn how to inscribe their own auras to create an Opus. An Opus is a temporary and powerful ability or effect that is activated by a spoken phrase or word. An Opus requires a large reserve of aura to activate, but provides an extreme boost to power or a last ditch effort to win a fight. This is an advanced technique Darksbane-to-be will learn at Lux Academy.
Now that you have a brief understanding of everything beyond Lux Academy's walls, we'd like to formally welcome you to Lux Academy, Darksbane-to-be.
Upon entering these halls, we do expect a bit of knowledge and training for all of our Darksbane initiates. All initiates are expectated to have basic combat knowledge, from either a lesser Academy or taught from other means. In addition, one should know enough fighting styles to have one of their own, with a weapon in mind for battle. Additionally, initiates should be well versed enough in magic and aura training to use their aura sufficiently and have an attunement selected. At this point, all initiates are a warrior in training to be one of the best. Please understand that this is an elite academy for a reason. You are not entering for a diploma. You are entering to defend humanity.
If you pass initiation, you will learn the following in Lux Academy: Weapon and armor crafting and inscription, Opus creation and honing, advanced diplomacy, tactics, and strategies, and further refinement in battle, combat, and magic. By the end of your time at Lux Academy, you will be trained to become a Darksbane.
Open Slots:
- Malachite "Chite" Sterling - Obscura
- Citrine Manda CitRINe - Spearmint
- Sodalite "Dali" Soleanos - eulogy
- Pyrope Pyralspite-Almandine - RangerofIthilien
- Unakite "Una" Thane Matthai - winterwolf0100
- Mica Avé - JazzicusMaximus
- Anglesite "Angel" Caedor - Avian
- Code: Select all
(please remove everything in parentheses before submitting)
[b]Name: [/b]
[b]Age: [/b](18-20)
[b]Pronouns & Sexual Orientation: [/b]
[b]Appearance: [/b](Your character's normal appearance outside of battle attire and school uniform)
[b]Thematic: [/b](this is your character's color theming around their uniform, weapon, armor, aura, and magic. Thematic cohesion is quite important to Darksbane, as it helps them carry a reputation more easily. Plus, it's cool)
[b]Aura Color: [/b](This is just separated from thematic for technical purposes, but make sure to think about the thematic when coming up with this color!)
[b]Fighting Style: [/b](Your Fighting Style determines everything in this section. If you have an aggressive and mobile fighting style, you would probably want medium armor, Fury Attunement, and dual daggers. If you are stealthy, this will be different. If you fight as a tank, this will be different. If you plan on supporting from afar, this will be different.)
[b]Armor: [/b](You do not need to be extremely detailed in this if you do not want to at the moment, as your character will create an armor set during their time at Lux Academy. At the very least, describe how much armor your character will want [light covering, medium armor, or heavy armor] and what for)
[b]Magic Attunement: [/b]
[b]Weapon Preference: [/b]
[b]Personality: [/b]
[b]Personal Strengths: [/b](please include at least one personality strength and one battle strength)
[b]Personal Weaknesses: [/b](please include at least one personality weakness and one battle weakness)
[b]Backstory: [/b]
[b]Connections to Lux Academy: [/b](if any, this is optional)
[b]Personal Goal: [/b]
[b]Personal Secret: [/b]
[b]Personal Fear: [/b]
[b]Other: [/b]
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The Art and History of Inscription
In the world of Destain, magic runs through everything, and is almost synonymous with life itself. In the modern era of Destain, magic is mostly an afterthought for the vast majority of humanity. While it is something that is taught to everyone, it is not something many use beyond extremely basic usage. It is more of a staple for people to live and have stronger and healthier lives.
However, this was not always the case for humanity. Like many things, the usage and concept of magic for civilization changed after the Prism Wars. After it was quickly figured out that Voidborn absorb magic in ways that strengthened them and emboldened them, humanity thus too had to evolve their way of combat and of living. In order to not only win the wars but to survive, humanity had to distance their reliance and relationship with magic. After all, their enemies had far better use of magic than they did. In most ways possible, humanity cut ties with magic. Mostly.
Out of all civilization, the Darksbane uses magic the most, as their body demands the most from their aura. However, there is one aspect, one tool in the Darksbane's arsenal that persisted through the generations and beyond the Voidborn and the Prism Wars, due to its usefulness. This is Inscription.
At its core, Inscription is the manipulation of magic using a written language or code. Inscription requires magic to be used; if a person writes inscription out without magic it is useless.
Inscription's language is not understood nowadays by more than a select few who have dedicated their lives to preserving the art of understanding Inscription. New inscriptions are not made anymore; there is not innovation or renditions of what is currently known. While Inscription used to be a language, it is now more of an equation or programming built on a limited foundation of knowledge. Nowadays, any transaction of magic are done either by brute forcing it with an aura or using Inscription.
All Darksbane are taught a basic foundation of Inscription symbols and phrases (connected symbols designated to create more complex outputs) for a variety of uses: Inscribing, Attunement, and creating an Opus. All of these come from the foundation of Inscription.
Inscribing an object is to write Inscription onto the object and apply a bit of magic/aura to the object. Inscription stores the magic until the phrase is activated. The most common uses of Inscribing are to Attune an object or use an object to store aura for later usage (that can be later used either by tapping into the stored magic with an aura or another Inscribed object).
Attunement is a natural subsection of Inscription that was created during and shortly after the Prism Wars. An Attunement's primary purpose is to provide additional offensive, defensive, and utility mechanisms to a Darksbane's arsenal that does not require a massive amount of magic and aura and does not require a massive amount of time to use in the battlefield.
Attunements were created as a compromise and an answer to the difficult question of magic. Warriors of the time, the ancestors to the current day Darksbane, relied heavily on large uses of magic in the battlefield. So, when the opponents of the battlefield suddenly became not only highly resistant to magic but also attracted to, dependent on, and emboldened by magic, the warriors needed to adapt. However, they could not just stop using magic altogether. Thus, researchers and warriors crafted Attunements to focus mostly on battle enhancement and less a direct offensive measure. Through the years, Attunements were refined to require less aura and provide more and more benefits in relation to the amount of magic used as fuel. There were several more types of Attunements that faded over the years, leading to the five ones that are used now.
Over time, Attunements expanded to be able to be inscribed not just on auras but on objects as well. This expanded the amount of utility and capability for Darksbane, as they could Attune weapons and armor to use stored magic instead of their aura directly. This also commidified magic to much of the world, and transitioned the world to viewing magic as transactional and a commodity to use, spend, earn, and eventually exploit.
The Darksbane kept one more aspect of old magic in the form of creating an Opus. Pushing Inscription to its limits, Darksbane create Opuses to act as a limited usage ability that defines the battle they are in. Opuses are Inscribed directly onto one's aura and are costly forms of magic, so it's often only used in dire situations or as a last-ditch effort. Opuses were allowed as Darksbane continued push against the limitations and boundaries of the Inscription system. It is not recommended to try and create an opus without the assistance of a veteran Darksbane or an Inscription scholar, as trying to manipulate the Inscription language without knowledge of the full repercussions can lead to disastrous consequences.
⤞ ⟢ ❖ ⟣ ⤝
Dealing With Voidborn
-Excerpt from "The Darksbane Toolkit V. 27"
While Darksbane training equips Darksbane to deal with many different scenarios and situations, the main one is Voidborn. This section is the beginning of your training on how to deal with Voidborn in the battlefield.
As always, you should first assess the situation. Voidborn are dangerous creatures and only Darksbane are equipped enough to deal with them, so your first duty as Darksbane is to protect those who cannot protect themselves and perform damage control to property and people.
If possible, a Darksbane should isolate the Voidborn from the public. Voidborn are attracted by large uses of magic. That is your first tool. For Darksbane, magic usage is thus, scaling from most amount of magic used to least,: Opus, Burst, Inscription Activation, Aura Activation, General Aura usage. For distraction and luring purposes, it is not recommended to use an Opus, as that will wear the Darksbane out.
If a magic lure is not available for whatever reason, there are several other methods to try. It is speculated that Voidborn are also attracted to extreme expressions of emotion. Voidborn have limited eyesight and hearing based on Darksbane accounts, but it can be helpful as a last ditch effort to try and get a Voidborn's attention through use of noise or visual distractions.
If isolation is not possible, then a Darksbane needs to take down the Voidborn immediately to reduce the amount of time the beast is a threat to the people around them.
Destroying Voidborn
Voidborn are capable combatants and the main reason for the Darksbane existence. It is important not to under estimate a Voidborn when coming across one.
Voidborn are modeled and formed after natural predatory animals across the continent. The closer a Voidborn looks like its animal counterpart, the more juvenile it is. As Voidborn absorb magic, they grow larger and gain more features that separate them from their animal counterparts. Many of these features are more ways of spreading their infection and attacking. It is important to keep in mind that, although Voidborn look like animals, they do not behave or fight like those animals. It is easy to be lured into a sense of normalcy from inherent biases even when fighting these creatures.
Although Voidborn are mostly complete black, they have a silver sheen to them that makes it easier to tell them apart from natural shadows. The most obvious difference between Voidborn and their animal counterparts are their faces. Every Voidborn has some sort of mask for a face, modeled after what seems to be bone. These masks resemble human expressions and have at least two holes for the Voidborn's eyes. The eyes themselves are only read glows and the easiest part to notice a Voidborn in the dark.
A Voidborn can only die one way: by destroying the mask. Attacking any other part of a Voidborn's body will not result in death. Both a Voidborn's body and mask are naturally tough and resilient to all attacks. The Voidborn's body naturally regenerates from attacks by absorbing magic around it. The larger the injury done to a Voidborn's body, the longer it takes to heal and reform.
It is possible to destroy a Voidborn's body. It is estimated that it takes about five minutes for a Voidborn to fully regenerate its body after destruction.
The most common way of destroying a Voidborn is to separate the mask from the body. This can be through destroying the body or by forcibly separating the mask -- causing the body to dissipate.
Once destroyed, the mask will dissipate just like the body.
Voidborn Wounds
Voidborn taint everything they touch, like an infection. This infection will feed upon magic around it and fester, grow, and spread. It is this way that Darksbane can track Voidborn, by tracking the infection on the surrounding vegetation. This is how it was discovered that Elderbeasts, mature Voidborn, travel in packs and migrate.
A Voidborn wound works similarly. Auras are susceptible to Voidborn attacks and even the most experienced Darksbane can only tank a few direct attacks from Voidborn with their auras. A Voidborn attack that pierces skin will taint the wound.
This taint will make the wound itself unhealable from an aura as it drains the aura faster than the aura can heal. Additionally, the taint will fester and its infection will spread. If not dealt with promptly, the wound can be deadly.
A Voidborn wound's infection can be removed by one of two ways.
The first way to remove the infection is to overpower the infection with a burst of magic. This essentially burns out the infection, but can make the infection spread faster if done improperly.
The second way to remove the infection is to use a inscribed cloth to wipe away the infection. The infection will be attracted to the cloth's magic and stick to it instead of the wound.
