Garden of the Cursed *UPDATED* [Started | Full]

In the sands of the West an old power awakens, something people had buried in their legends a long time ago. Whispers of people with odd and unusual abilities surface, and while some dismiss them as pure myth, others recount them almost religiously. These people themselves have no idea who - or indeed, what - they are. Outcasts, they travel from place to place, hoping to settle down somewhere, and hopefully, find out more about their origins, despite the dangers they face from the superstitious and the Church itself.

Elsewhere, in a town called Leisis, droughts, famine and disease has attacked its people year after year for more than a decade, leading to the belief that it is cursed. The Church has already given up; most of its priests and nuns have left, carrying all their valuable wealth away with them. Some people have tried to leave; others are too scared of the desert to even attempt. With only a limited amount of survivors, the town is declining at a rapid rate; and what food has been reserved is slowly running out...

As either an outcast or one of the townspeople, your job is to find out what's going on and why; not trying to do so may result not only in trouble, but might even cause your own death. In this world, you either work with everyone, or you work only for yourself; and sometimes, it's only by doing the former that you can do the latter.

Note: The two groups are going to run into each other later, so be prepared for that.

Another note: People with lighter skin/complexion are favored over people with darker ones, so if your character is of the latter origin, be prepared.

Important for the Outcasts:

Spoiler

You are people with powers only seen in the pagan myths of old times; your worst enemy is the Church itself. They are behind the people that throw you out; they are also behind the exorcists that are on your tail. Unless proven, trust no one but yourselves. Before Leisis, you will all meet at a town called Riordan. You can only pick out any one set of the abilities listed here. Be warned; some of these can be quite dangerous. So choose your skills wisely.

1. Shadows

Your powers are shapeshifting and turning invisible. You can sneak by almost anyone unnoticed. Be warned, though; someone with a strong focus may be able to look past your tricks. The side effect for this ability is a severe energy loss that lasts as long as you used it.
Spot: Dreamwalker - female - Jannie

2. Elementalist

When you use this power, you can call on any of the four elements of fire, wind, earth and water. However, you need a source of the element you are calling on, such as a torch, soil or a well or otherwise you will not be able to use it. Air is almost always an exception. You cannot use earth in a building where there is none, although a dwelling with earth materials can be manipulated. The side effect depends on the element; with fire, you may have burn injuries on your body, with earth your body will feel like a log, with water you may have troubles breathing and with air you may experience dizziness to the point of fainting.
Spot: CelticaNoir - female - Luna

3. Scholar

You are a great logician, and have two powers: telepathy and telekinesis. However, as with any of the other set, each of these powers have their very own problems. Telekinesis is useful when in a pinch, but the side-effect occurs just as it is activated; you immediately start to experience a strong energy drain. Telepathy is useful when singling out a person's intentions, but it can't be turned off, meaning that if you are in a group, things can get very confusing; in a crowd, and you will start experiencing severe dizziness to the point of having a fit.
Spot: Manny - male - Roland

4. Healer

Your powers include healing and emotional manipulation; you can heal any injury from small to big, and can calm down or anger anyone if you wish. However, you can't cure any diseases; and you can't heal a dying person. The side-effect for healing is, sadly, rather heavy; depending on the injury, some of your and the patient's lifetime will be taken away as a payment. Thankfully, the other power costs much less; mostly, you will experience strong mood swings right after you use it.
Spot: IshaThePirate - male - Lucas

Important for the Townspeople:

Spoiler

Because of the famine that is currently going on, your food is running out; you are scavenging for food, and it's getting harder and harder to. Your job is to find more food before the whole supply runs out; and also to find out why all these things are happening. When the Outcasts finally show up, and they will, the townspeople may or may not take kindly to it; in the end, it is up to you as an individual to react to them as you will.

Note for names: Last names hint at profession and/or surrounding environment, so please choose a last name according to that.

About Leisis:

Spoiler

-On a floodplane
-Formerly 400 strong, now down to 200 as trades leave
-Trade used to be the main source of income before the river got too shallow for travel
-Fishermen were the first to leave, going farther upriver to where the source hopefully is still providing enough water so they can practice their trade.
-Farming was, and still is, huge. The river has simply stopped flooding for mysterious reasons, forcing them to rely on irrigation which cuts the amount of usable farmland. But farmers are slowly being driven closer to the river's edge, as every year, it seems to be getting smaller.
-Animal husbandry (cows and goats, namely) was a large reason the village wasn't in trouble until recently. Stores of hay were in place in case of an emergency, but as farmland decreases they can't sustain as many animals. The water supply is also becoming an issue.
-Bandits are a risk, as any other towns along the river die and people leave. Some members of Leisis have moved onto banditry, whie others are trying to track back the river.
-Because of old trade, the village is semi well-off and did have good stores in order to trade. At good advice they cut off trade instead of selling at lower prices. The traders also stopped coming on their own, hearing the town was cursed.
-The desert is slowly but surely creeping in, as land keeps drying out over the years. The farmers are limited to land in reach of the irrigation system to actually harvest.
-The town was large enough to support weavers, metal/stone workers, fisheries, and a small Church which is now completely abandoned. There used to be merchants in the population, but they moved on at the first sign of lowering profits. They've all left with trade cut off. The only trades left are weavers and tanners, and a very loyal group of weaponsmiths.

Rules:

- All basic YWS rules apply.

- Whatever we say goes. Rebellion is rewarded with a mud-pie in the face.

- Cursing is allowed, but if you drop any F-bombs we will personally throw a stinky one into your bedroom.

- No sex scenes. Romance and kissing are, however, allowed. Just make sure they're not too descriptive.

- Posts must run at least 800 characters. Any less and our pet dinosaur will obliterate it.

- No godmodding; i.e., no all-powerful characters, and while using other people's characters, please pay attention to the personality that is on their profile.

- Up to two characters are allowed.

- No OOC posts in the SB itself; there is a DT for that.

- This SB is co-modded by CelticaNoir and Rosey Unicorn.

- If you wish to join, just PM either me or Rosey Unicorn with your profile. If at least two of us approve, you may post it down there.

- You're allowed plenty of leeway, but too much off the plot, and your character shall die by hellfire.

- Inactive characters will die by natural disasters. Just keeping a note of it here.



Character slots:

Outcasts

- CelticaNoir - F - Luna - Elementalist
- IshaThePirate - M - Lucas - Healer
- Manny - M - Roland - Scholar
- Dreamwalker - F - Jannie - Shadows

Townspeople

- Rosey Unicorn - F - Arila
- Rosey Unicorn - M - Aiden
- Kyousuke - M – William

Other Characters:
- Kyllorac - F - Elena
- CarbonCore - M - Burns



Profile Template

CodeSelect all


[b]Name:[/b] (Both names, please. Also, if you're a Townsperson, please refer to the spoiler above.)
[b]
Gender:[/b] (Duh?)

[b]Age:[/b] (15 and up for the outcasts; 17 and up for the townspeople)

[b]Ability Set/Skills:[/b] (Ability Sets only for the Outcasts; if you're a townsperson, just give us your skills.)

[b]Appearance:[/b] (No scene, but anime is allowed. And a text description would be appreciated, just so we don't confuse each other.)

[b]Personality:[/b] (I want at least a hundred words here, no less. Tell us what they like, what they don't, what their good points and flaws are. And there must be flaws!)

[b]History:[/b] (No one liner! Tell us everything about your character, even if they themselves don't remember who they are. At least one solid paragraph.)

[b]Up for Love:[/b] (Yes or no, and what orientation.)

[b]Other:[/b] (Anything I forgot.)



Link to DT: topic81865.html

Sorry, I just don't have the time.

Outsider:

Name: Luna Torissi

Gender: Female

Age: 17

Ability Set/Skills: Elementalist. Luna has had a few years to work with her abilities, and is therefore aware of what they can and cannot do. She is fairly skilled at controlling them, to the point of even limiting a wildfire's spread. However, when she is angry, her powers can start erupting out of their own will, creating a massive but uncontrollable effect, which can drain her out of all her energy in minutes. She is, by the way, an excellent horsewoman, but is bad when it comes to normal or weapons fighting.

Appearance:

Spoiler

csakura.png (269.97 KiB) Viewed 475 times

Personality: Luna is a bit of a dreamer, detached from reality often to the point of being in a trance. While most people say that it's an endearing quality of hers, it can be the most frustrating; she can often not notice if there's any immediate danger around her, unless she is told. However, once she is aware, she is rarely fazed by anything that happens. She can get along with almost anyone, except anyone who hurts the people she loves. While her general behavior with people is rather mild and sweet, she has another side to her that she never shows; the dark, guilt-tortured girl that holds onto her past and doesn't want to let it go - also the reason why she seems so fazed most of the time. She also has a habit of wandering off a lot, but can usually be found hanging around people she likes.

History: Luna was born in a family of four; the youngest child, Luna was the child of the family and adored by her parents and siblings. Even though she was educated in the ways of a proper lady, Luna herself was anything but; rowdy even as a youngster, she had made friends with the town sheriff's young boy, Daniel. Together they did all sorts of mischief and were affectionately considered the plague of the town - except by the Church. What with the unusual coloring of her hair and her behavior, it was perhaps because of her family's influence that she wasn't persecuted.

It was when she turned fifteen that her real problems had started: in the form of suitors. A pretty girl, she had many she didn't want, mainly because she didn't want to be bound down to marriage even before her real life had started, or so she said. It was during one of these courtships that everything had gone wrong; a suitor, gone mad because of her rejection, had set fire to the family home.

While Luna herself had become quickly alert, her parents had not; even as she tried to go to them to warn them, she was held at gunpoint by her suitor, who declared that she either had to accept or die along with her parents. It was then that Daniel had come in; seeing the situation, he tried to stop the suitor, but ended up being shot at, point-blank.

It was then that Luna had realized her true feelings for him; and then all hell broke loose, as her powers started to manifest in the form of all four elements. Not only did she somehow manage to devastate the house even further, she also ended up burning her suitor to death; and it was then that roof started falling down on her.

The whole event had been reported as a accidental fire, with four deaths; those of Luna's parents, Daniel and her suitor. Unable to face her siblings and unable to stay any longer because of the memories that haunted her, she rode out of town that night, only carrying a small bag of necessities and saying no goodbyes.

Up for Love: Maybe, but it's more likely not, especially since Luna had loved Daniel the most. It would take someone really special to occupy that place in her heart.

Other: Luna has a dark complexion to match her heritage. This may often invite racist comments from others. She is also being hunted by the Church as a witch because of the event that resulted in her parents' deaths.

*I would like to reserve a place for a male summoner if that is possible.*

Name: Lucas (Luke) Aaron

Gender: male

Age: 19

Ability Set/Skills: Healer. He's very, very skilled with his abilities. He knows their limits and he always tries his best to use good judgement with them- especially healing, as it's particularly dangerous. He doesn't stretch himself, and he knows when to step in and when to let things take their course. What good is a dead Healer? He's a very caring person, easy to talk to and has been considered wise by a few, especially considering his age and his past. He chooses to learn from things, not to take what he has for granted, and to try to be open to all people. He's a very calm person, doesn't anger easily and is exceedingly patient.

Appearance: He has messy, medium-length brown hair and dark blue-grey eyes. He's never completely clean-shaven, as he doesn't really have the time to keep himself tidy. He stands around 5'9'', though he's far from muscley. Toned from walking and wandering, but that's about it. He's pretty well skinny, considering the lack of food. He hates not wearing a shirt, as he is honestly ashamed of the fact that his ribs are quite visible beneath his skin. His expression is often one of total calm, with the ocassional pinch of sadness behind it all. His voice is low, gentle and smooth, and he hardly moves his lips when he speaks.

Spoiler

Personality: Lucas has always been a very tranquil spirit. The world around him could be ripped apart at its own hands, and he'd remain at peace. He simply moves on to a quieter area and enjoys the quiet. His mood-swings are the only time you'll ever see him in a peculiar state. Unless he's feeling the side-effects of his second and less dangerous power, the tranquility is always there. He has a very, very controlled and docile temper, and has never been known to lash out at people, even if they lash out at him first. His responses are always calm, always gentle. He has an air of wisdom about him, and he deploys it well. (Honestly, though, most of what he's heard doesn't come from him. It's usually an expansion of what he's already heard from others.)

Lucas has also been known to be a very self-sacrificing person. He tends to put others first, protecting and helping them while risking his own life. He's already taken plenty of years off of his own life for the sake of others, and he figures that he'll only get to around fifty, tops. The thought of dying so early is, despite everything he believes in, very unnerving (obviously), and this is why he's forced himself to use judgement. Every single time he can't help, he falls into a state of depression. For every person that dies because he couldn't help, a new layer of guilt piles up. Despite his peaceful, put-together appearance, this is starting to wear away at him. Calm, but secretly very depressed. All he needs is a very simple reminder, and he'll wander off and let himself cry. Helping as many people as he can, whether with injury, injustice done unto them or just simple advice, is his way of trying to make ammends for how many times he's been forced to let somebody else go. He's easy to talk to, and has been known to be a very, very good listener.

History: Lucas was the first-born son to his parents, Roal and Niarah Aarin. The first five years of his child-hood passed without incident; he knew nothing of his abilities, nor did his parents. They attended church every Sabbath, as was required. The more he listened, the more Lucas became uneasy and uncertain. Even as a child, his mood was usually tranquil and laid-back. After services and mass, however, things started to get ugly. The first time Lucas ever healed somebody was when he was 6. The priest at his church demanded the boy be stoned. Afraid for their son's safety, his parents sent him on his way with a few prayers and a measley sum of money and little food.

For as long as he can remember, Lucas has been on the streets, learning what he can from every source that he can. He has never stolen a thing in his life, choosing to do small odd jobs for people who don't know of his past with the church. He made what money he could, bought only what was necessary, and even from a very early age, he developed a sense of wisdom, discretion and know-how. He helped who he could, when he could and where he could. He never struck back, and always took the blows handed to him.

There was one particular person that he helped - a man and his sister that the church had executed. The man preached his beliefs, ones that weren't ritualistic, ones that didn't comdemn. Ones that stated that the church was not the source of power- that God was. Lucas came across them both as they were being dragged off to prison. Having heard the man preach on a street corner at one point, and having heard the threats of the church in numerous places before, he decided to intervene. After a long tangle with the authorities, he managed to get the man, but not his sister, to safety. His name was Eric Vasloe, and though he knew of the Pagan system and what Lucas was considered, he never fought the boy. Instead, he took him under his wing. From fourteen to seventeen, the two lived as outcasts, debating their beliefs, talking of their beliefs, and of the hypocrisy of the church in that day. Lucas is far from convinced, but he definitely doesn't doubt as much as the others do. A few weeks after Lucas' seventeenth birthday, Eric was stoned to death in front of the house. A very upset and disturbed Lucas ran, as it was all he could do.

Up for Love: Yes, straight

Other: (I couldn't find a way to fit this into personality, but. Physical weaknesses/flaws:)
-He's far from being physically inclined. He couldn't hold his own in a fight, and would just as soon let somebody kill him before striking back. He may be (mostly) pagan, but he doesn't understand that sometimes you do have to stand up for yourself. If his words don't work, he'll let himself get pummeled.
-He isn't particularly fast, though he is stealthy. He can sneak around, but he does so in a very slow way. Running isn't an easy feat for him, and his stamina levels are low. (He wonders if it's not another sub-side-effect of his healing abilities) It's getting worse as time goes on, and he's only 18.
-His vision is growing weaker and weaker, and he can't see more than five feet in front of him clearly. Things ten feet away are just big blobs, mishapen and mis-placed. He's worried that he's going blind.
-He still has nightmares of Eric's death, and there are so many things that make him mourn for his father-figure all over again. (Purple sheets, street-corner preachers, blue vases, piano music and hymns for a few examples) When he sees these things are the only time that he ever really breaks down in front of others, aside from mood-swings do to his second ability.

He despises the current church, though he'd never openly admit it or show it. He does, however, have an undying pity (and affection) for the daring people who speak out against the ways of the church. He knows that not all believers are hypocritical and power-hungry, though he definitely doesn't believe for himself.

Townsperson:

Name: Arila Roughcreek

Gender: Female

Age: 22

Skills: She is from the primary healing family of the village, which puts her in the odd place of being considered a "witch" because a few dozen generations of herblore and nutrition knowledge has resulted in scarily complete healings, despite the limited resources available in the droughts and disasters. In fact, because of them, she's learned to make do with nearly everything she has. Because of her skill, she's had a large hand in food preservation.

But since she has to travel farther out from the village than most, and refuses any guard [as her family has done for generations] she carries a walking stick she uses to help spread the load of any herbs and foods over her shoulders. This walking stick doubles as a staff she will use to defend herself. She defended herself from men in the past, but now it's mostly starving animals that rarely go past her knee. Her skills aren't legendary, but they get her by.

Appearance: Dark brown hair and darker skin like the rest of her village, but because she's been spending more time healing for malnutrition of late, she's gotten paler from all her hours inside. She's less scrawny than most because of how close she is to the food stores. People think she's a thief. Her dark brown eyes are almost always piercing at or through somebody, and her lips are almost always a line. When she smiles, though, she's rather pretty.

Spoiler

Personality: She likes it when people come to her for help and treat her with the respect she feels she deserves. This usually gets a certain degree of tolerance, even kindness, depending on her mood. She also likes being left alone for any work she has to do and can get very frustrated with any interruptions for "minor" problems that she thinks should be easily treated or they should know how to treat. If they insist they don't know how, she passes them on to her grandmother so she can be left in peace. On the other side of the same coin, she hates it when people try to treat something major (say, broken bones, deep wounds, or high fevers) and will handle those herself. She dislikes it even more when somebody treats things incorrectly, be it a minor or major issue. It leaves her more to clean up.

Her good point is she will treat those in her care very well, almost maternal... when she thinks the problem wasn't the result of something they did. If she thinks the injured/diseased party behaved their way into their current situation, she'll help them, but not that pleasantly

She's also highly possessive of her secrets and lashes at anybody who tries to get at them. Sometimes physically. She's vain from knowing she's frequently the only one who can help those in the village, but has a certain disdain for those who haven't learned their lessons for anything they brought upon themselves.

History: She's been learning her trade since she could sit by her mother and grandmother as they healed anybody in the town. As previous generations before her, she learned staff fighting from the Sandstorms [protectors of the village] and her parents. She grew close to their oldest son because of how frequently he came for his eye problems and because he taught her the most often. She also recognized him as another outcast, although she never truly dropped her superiority and aloofness. He never tried to get too close to her, which helped.

When disasters began striking, she was promoted to full healer to account for the number of people who were injured or diseased. She was tolerant to most of them, until malnutrition and dehydration began becoming a problem and nobody would listen to her family's advice for how to stay healthy. Arila used to hand the most annoying cases off to her mother, until her mother was killed when she was 14, in one of the worst disasters that hit the village. Her father was also killed that day, having been helping her mother rescue victims when a second disaster struck. People deemed her lower on the priority list to tell about the deaths, mostly because the bodies were hidden and they resented her mother for making them lose one of the best merchants and foragers in the city.

Her vanity increased after, because she became the only one strong and knowledgable enough to handle the harvesting and preparing of herbs in the village. It's another reason she despises interruptions— she hopes that any anomaly in stock, water, or her grandmother's memory will lead her to the source of the problem. There's been enough self-imposed problems because of all the disasters, and would like some peace and quiet.

As the Church began trying to hunt out the problem, her family was targeted as "too strange" and the rumours of witchcraft were brought to the surface as full-out accusations. With her mother already dead and the Church wanting to rid themselves of her because she was unusual, they dragged her and her grandmother out for trial. She was saved by the Sandstorms, who saw her and her family as a necessity in the village, especially if the drought ever got worse. She treats them slightly more kindly in thanks.

She's a rarity in the village because she's still single after her 20th birthday. Frequently, she keeps her secrets too close for anybody to get past them and see her. She's also had a bad experience, or two, with men trying to rip secrets away from her. She'd rather leave and take her knowledge with her than stay in a town that's given her nothing. But she hasn't quite given up hope a source for the disasters can be found just yet.

Up for Love: Yep. But a few bad experiences with men has left her prone to rejecting their advances. Sometimes violently if they don't take "no" for an answer. She carries her walking stick everywhere and will use it.

Other: People who think she's holding back food stores are correct. Lack of sympathy for her dead mother, and viewing the villagers as bringing their problems on themselves, has made her hide away very small stashes of food that she'll use for drastic healings. But she never heals people completely. She wants them to learn their lesson and depend on her.

She's feared and treated as a bit of an outcast, but people know they depend on her family and would be lost without her. She knows they know, which makes her rather secure to treat people however she wants, so long as she doesn't do anything that would make them think killing her is worthwhile.

She'll have an automatic dislike of the healer Outcast, thinking him foolish for using magic at the cost of his life instead of ancient knowledge . Also because if he ever gets in too good with the villagers they might have reason to finally rid themselves of her and her family. The others she's apathetic towards. If she felt they didn't bring their situation onto themselves, she'll have a certain degree of sympathy. If she feels they brought the situation upon themselves, then see "no sympathy" above.

She used to be close to a second healer family when she was a kid, before they were forced away from the Church before the disasters struck. One member of the family was killed by the Church before they left. This has led to Arila hesitant/flat out refusing to heal anybody who's more trouble than they are worth, and to despise the Church even more.

~

Townsperson:

Name: Aiden Sandstorm

Gender: Male

Age: 19

Skills: He's been taught how to wield nearly every weapon available (arrows, swords, knives, staff, club), and how to use everything around him as a weapon, thanks to his upbringing as protector of the town along with his family. In more recent years, he's been the primary guide to expeditions outside the town, and has gotten a keen sense of tracking and hunting as the village continues looking for other sources of food.

Appearance:

Spoiler

Personality: He's mostly quiet and a bit aloof, having been taught by his father not to become too emotionally attached to the people he's protecting just in case he fails. However, his father also instilled a loyalty in him to the whole village that is unmatched, and if he does get close to somebody, that loyalty transfers to them. But, because of some shyness that mostly comes from watching but never really knowing how to interact, he's not close to that many people. Childhood friends are mostly who he knows, and as they dwindle away over the disasters he finds himself more and more loyal to those he knows.

Aiden is stubborn to the point of self-harm, often putting himself in risky situations most people avoid thanks to sanity. He's focused in general, which his stubbornness just amplifies. This gets him into trouble with the healers, especially Arila, who is more often than not stuck tending him.

His physical strength gives him an air of tranquility, and is frequently the only thing that keeps people from teasing him about his eye. If anything will send him snapping (and frequently regretting it/getting shy right after) it is teasing him about it.

History: The Church has hated him from birth because of his mismatched eyes, and it was only his family's position that kept them from acting on any sort of malicious intent they ever planned on doing, which sets him as better off than most with two colour eyes the Church ever saw. The feeling is mutual, especially the way the Church has handled other situations— namely the disasters.

From a very young age he was training with his father. His little brother, Korin, joined him in training when Aiden was about 8 [his brother is three years younger than him]. Before the disasters struck, he'd watch his mom take care of the meats brought in by the shepherds and other hunters would bring in, if it was too much for their stores. She also took care of anything he and his father killed out on a hunt. He also got to watch over the farmers and fishers, although Korin took over the fishermen when he was old enough, leaving Aiden with the farmers. The shepherds were frequently taught basic self-defence by his father, so they didn't need as much watching.

He's very well aquatinted with the Roughcreeks, having mild vision trouble in his blue eye (it's more sensitive to light) and frequently needing to be patched up whenever there was an attack. He was the one to teach Arila her staff knowledge, and sparred with her growing up. He often considered her a sister type, especially when her parents were alive and the worst she did was lecture him about not getting beat up again. She often watched his check-ups. Now that her parents are gone, she does them herself.

When two disasters struck in a row, nobody wanted to tell Arila her parents were killed. They knew they were dead, but didn't want to risk more injuries finding the bodies and managed to avoid the topic as she treated the survivors. His father cautioned him on going against the village, but he couldn't avoid her or the topic for long. He first pulled them up then brought her to the site. In return, she doesn't treat him as harshly, although he still gets many a lecture on not putting himself in harm's way. He ignores her.

As the village has gotten smaller, he's taken a much more active role in hunting and protecting the food stores from bandits. He's also taught a few of the villagers how to defend themselves, now that there simply aren't enough protectors to go around. It's easier to remain distant but loyal, now. Distance is cause by not wanting to get close to somebody who was either killed or left, and loyalty is from not wanting anybody to die or leave anymore.

Up for Love: Yes, but he'd need to be captivated by somebody to break from his hardened exterior.

Other: He's still respectful of his father despite what he wanted Aiden to do. He's distanced himself from nearly everybody in the village but Arila, his mother and Korin, the former he has to see on a weekly basis for his eye and the latter two he has to live with.

His opinion on the Outcasts is mixed. On the one hand, he understands what it's like to be prosecuted by the Church. On the other, he does not want any of them causing trouble, and if they do, he will not hesitate in letting them know hurting any members of the town is completely unacceptable (wounding and/or killing them while doing so)

If I can't join in, then so be it.

Townsperson

Name: William (Will) Jacknight

Gender: Male

Age: 25

Skills: Anything from quick tactics to underhanded tricks, his main objective is and has always been survival. He can decently wear anything solid and use his own body, but he's never been perfect in neither and so he relies heavily on anything around him to be underhandedly used, not to mention he has many tricks up his sleeve and always seeks to obtain more. He's very cunning when it comes to lying and acting.

Appearance: Mid-long dirty blond hair, green deep eyes, baggy trousers, long sleeved shirt with an old leather jacket.

Personality: His complex and often changing behavior to his will confuses many. Used to be deemed as anti-social, he doesn't want to believe anybody, always afraid of being betrayed or hurt once again. At times he hangs around people to speak, but always being careful he ends up being the listener. He has a strong sense for justice and dislikes to hurt anybody, unless his life is on the line. Kind at heart the society around him takes him as a harmless citizen of the town, unaware of his always searching eyes and information gathering ears. He longs for true friendship and better life, but with bad previous experiences he patiently waits to come across matching person, carefully gathering information on everybody he doesn't yet know. He has trouble stopping himself from helping out anybody he knows isn't bad, making him wonder if it might end up killing him one day.

History: Obediently following rules on the surface, he's gone through the years of his life as an average human. After finishing ordinary school his parents could pay for, he left his parents years ago and moved to Leisis, trying to build up a career as a spokesman for a merchant guild. Having proved his quick-witted nature he has experience of meeting high posted people, letting him earn enough money to survive and gaining him a decent enough reputation to not be disregarded as a dirt.

Seen as harmless he barely has many encounters with the church nor does he get in any trouble, his criminal records are blank and not many are interested in his existence. Small attention and interest towards him lets him live more or less peacefully, slightly smiling at all the unaware people.

He refuses to leave the city, despite most merchants having left, because he's grown to love the town and wants to see it return to the place he knew.

Up for love: He believes that love would cure many of his problems, but he's afraid of being hurt and holds his feeling back with all the might of his willpower, waiting for a true chance.

Name: Roland Hart

Gender: Male

Age: 21

Ability Set/Skills: Scholar

Appearance:

Spoiler

Personality: Roland is a very reserved person, always distancing himself from others. This partly stems from the danger his telekinesis caused in the past when it first manifested and the constant yet subtle chipping of his mental state from hearing thoughts barraging his mind all the time. The fewer people he's surrounded by helps bring out the young boy who loved to play games and solve riddles, dreaming of one day setting off on grand adventures. Whenever strain is put on his mind and body from using his powers, he becomes sluggish and fatigued which can push him to be very short-fused toward people. He also has a fairly strong lack of faith in humanity that began when he was first shunned for his abilities and continued with his new perspective on the human psyche. Sometimes he'll randomly start singing as loudly as possible to try drowning out the thoughts around him.

History: Roland was born as the sixth child into a long line of farmers, going as far back as ten generations. From a very young age he was groomed to be a farmer like his siblings, drilled to except the mediocre lifestyle and work the same fields for the rest of his life. He would always find ways to get out of work so he could run off to play in by the river. When traders stopped on the farm to sell goods, he begged for stories of the world outside the farm. His father could tell there was something within Roland, a fire, that would never let him just be a farmer.

When Roland turned fifteen strange things started happening. He could hear the voices of his family even when they weren't talking. It was almost impossible for him to get a decent night's sleep causing him to often faint in the fields and come to hours later even more tired from laying on the rough ground. Not getting his share of labor done caused his family to work even harder to make up his portion, which caused friction between him and his father. Roland knew he couldn't tell anyone about the voices, which he discovered were thoughts as they would disappear the farther he got from other people.

Eventually the tension built to the point that Roland and his father started shouting at each other, and in a burst of anger he broke his father's leg with the wave of a hand. Roland can still remember the looks of fear, and something else, that his family gave him. That night he packed a bedroll and hunting knife, setting off for a place far away to find a new life. Sometimes he thinks that might have been an over dramatic thing to do, running away from home and the only family he knew, but staying would have drove him crazy and that look would always be in their eyes.

Up for Love: Yes, but it might be difficult considering he knows exactly what goes through your mind and in order to be together he'd probably want to move to some secluded cave in the mountains where nobody would ever visit. If you like that kind of thing, he's all game. :3

Other: Although Roland dislikes being around people, if there's even a chance of adventure or excitement he'll follow in a heartbeat, he just might be grumpy the whole time.

Renegade Church Enforcer

Name: Reverend Vladimir Burn

Gender: Male

Age: 48

Ability Set/Skills: Very high physical strength

Appearance: Bald. A mountain of a man, muscles upon muscles. Wears a monk's gown and hood. Has religious scenes and holy verses tattooed over his chest, back, and arms.

Personality: A militant religious fanatic, Reverend Burn will stop at nothing to accomplish his goals. He is rough, hot-tempered, and brutish. He speaks poorly and with a heavy accent. However, all these traits are deceiving-- he is curiously slow to use physical violence, trying all sorts of underhanded tactics beforehand before resorting to plain brutality. Insists on being called "Reverend Burn".

History: Vladimir was raised at a simple, distant farmstead, where he kept after cattle with his father. Their family lived out in the wastes, and keeping the plants growing was an exhaustive physical effort. One night, when he was twenty, bandits attacked their home, killing his father and setting the house on fire. Overcome with loss, Vladimir killed several of the raiders bare-handed in the hot frenzy. From there on, he adopted the second name "Burn".

A long and difficult trek to the nearest city began then. Vladimir was on the edge of breaking down for most of it, kept sane only by his mother's presence. In the city, he took the first available job-- which happened to be for the church. There, he discovered religion. His feelings of loss slowly mended by the Church, and its generosity with providing food and money for he and his mother made him unwaveringly loyal. Seeing his fierce devotion, the higher-ups chose him to be trained as a Church Enforcer. After five years of training, he was awarded the title Reverend; and for the next twenty years, he did the dirty jobs of the Church.

In that time, his damaged mind slowly twisted the very concept of religion around. Noticing his growing instability, the Church sent Reverend Burn on missions further and further out, hoping to have him killed or at least for him to fail a mission and be rightly thrown out of the holy order. However, his drive was unstoppable; not a single instruction disobeyed, every order fulfilled, even the seemingly impossible ones. His last assignment was to be sent to Leisis and investigate its drought. While he was still travelling, the Church withdrew its priests from the town, including Burn-- one of the returning priests told him so, meeting him on the road half-way. However, Burn claimed to have had a divine vision about the town, and refused to return, thus becoming excommunicated-- though his faith itself is as strong as ever. His original objectives were to investigate the drought and find the witch Luna, but what they are now is not yet known.

Up for Love: No.

Other: Kyll, feel free to add and/or modify anything to fit with your character. Celty, could you give a brief explanation of what this Church is so that I know what the heck my guy believes in?

Name: Jane-Marie (Jannie) Desmaurais

Gender: Female

Age: 19

Ability Set/Skills: Shadow! Her shapeshifting skills are kind of on the weaker side but she's capable of changing herself into birds and rodents. The hawk is her bird of choice whilst a house cat is usually her smaller animal.

Appearance:

This would be her!

Dark-haired and dark-eyed, Jannie is the epitome of shadow. Though she tans quite well, she is rather pale during the winter or at any stretch of time that she hasn't had the chance to be outside. Jannie is very small and very lithe due to the nature of her personality and body type. She stands about about five feet tall (152cm).

Personality: Quick-witted and quick-tempered. The type of girl you really don't want to mess with. Shes small but packs a heavy punch when it comes to her rebuttals. The problem is, shes easily angered. When this happens, she usually loses that cool wit and turns into a raging, rather pitiful girl.

Things that trigger her are sexist jokes. Because shes short, she tends to try and act big and tall by being tough. When someone, usually male, makes fun of her shrimpy-girliness, she loses her temper and rages like a bull. Because shes so small, though, she can't really do much damage. Someone thats all words but no real substance.

History: Jannie was born into a family of five, her being the fifth addition. It was a happy family starting off but she had always been a tab bit different than her elder siblings. Physically, they were all blonde-haired and blue-eyed just like both parents. She was the only one to have her certain look. Of course, her parents naturally pushed this aside thinking that he colouring must have come in through a strange twist in the bloodline.

It was not just the physical differences but the emotional and mental ones as well. The two were well-behaved but childish nonetheless. Jannie had always been quick to be unruly and would cause quite a bit of trouble during high n' seek whereas she would completely disappear without realizing she did it.

The last time she saw this said family was the year she turned eight. She had been playing in the backyard when her brother had gotten her angry. In a fit of rage unbeknowest to her, she started morphing into another creature. The other two children screamed and cried causing both parents to run out of the house in search of the reason for the said noise. When they saw their half-changed daughter, they screamed just about as much as the children did.

Jannie ran after that. She never looked back at what she lost. Merely kept going forward and learning as much as she could about why she was who she was. It made her a stronger person but it also made her believe that what she was was something monstrous and that in her quest, she would find a way to cure it instead of becoming it. It was something she needed to fix about herself instead of honing it and using it to better her own life.

Up for Love: Yes and shes not particular about orientation. She loves whatever she loves.

Other: Jannie is not depressed. The last thing I want is for her to be portrayed as melodramatic for what happened in her past. Jannie is also a bit cruel towards other people like her. The idea that she is a monster disturbs her. When others hone it and are not ashamed of it, she finds them to be twisted and montrous personally as well as physically.

Name: Sister Elena

Gender: Female

Age: 32 (mentally, 14)

Ability Set/Skills: Acting; adorability; and pure, unadulterated Cr@Zy

Appearance: Soft, brown hair with a gentle wave, cut simply to shoulder-length; deep brown eyes, wet and wide, that seem to always call for kindness; a rounded face with full lips, not so much pouting as they are awaiting a kiss; and subtle curves hidden by the modesty of her dress: if there were one word to describe Sister Elena's appearance, it would be safe. There's not a single harsh thing about her looks or behaviors that's visible at first glance, but looks can be deceiving, and the teeth hidden by her plush lips are sharp, the nails concealed beneath her gloves, pointed, and every bone in her body is the exact opposite of soft. The moment a person draws her ire, Elena's demeanor completely changes from benign to cruelly sadistic, a change reflected in the twist of her mouth, the gleam in her eyes, the claw-like pose of her hands, and the predatory stance she takes.

Personality: Sister Elena's personality is twofold: her surface personality is benign, benevolent, and completely harmless. This is the face she presents to all as a matter of course, and it is this personality that allows Sister Elena to approach those who may not necessarily like the Church without inciting or aggravating any personally-directed hostility.

This facade is but a thin veneer, however, and the personality beneath can only be described as dangerously chaotic. Sister Elena has always operated on her own system of reasoning, one drastically different from the system most people use, and so her actions handily cross the line of insane and unbelievable should she be incited. More often than not, Sister Elena is unclear about her core motivations herself, though she can always easily attribute her every action to righteousness overtaking her senses and compelling her to act in those unreasonable fashions.

For the most part, Sister Elena prefers to approach and convert people peacefully, through persuasion. Her most favored means is by befriending a Doubter (as she calls them), and she will take on whatever role necessary to get close enough to a Doubter to be considered completely trustworthy. If that approach should fail, Sister Elena will conclude that the Doubter's soul is so heavily tainted that the only way to cleanse it is through more drastic means, and nothing cleanses better than holy fire.

Although Sister Elena has never claimed to hear voices, they accompany her every waking and dreaming moment. She believes them to be the voices of the Divine Messengers, conveying the wishes of The Lord to any who would listen, and operates under the assumption that everyone can hear them; most people just ignore and forget about them. It is these voices that she relies upon to guide her actions and words while she takes on a role, and it is these voices that act as the jury when determining when to employ more drastic means of doubt-cleaning.

History: Elena was raised in an orphanage of the Church, growing up with the understanding that she would have perished had the Church not taken mercy upon her poor soul. She know nothing of her origins — only that the Church took her in when no one else would — and knows nothing of personal loves — outside of what the Church has taught her — and, quite frankly, she has no desire to know of these things. All that matters to her is that the Church was there for her, that the Church was merciful to her, and that the Church and all things of The Lord are the only things worthy of her utmost love and devotion.

But very few seem to understand such simplicity, and so Elena decided to dedicate her entire life towards bringing all people to the Church and to instill in them the utter devotion that she holds.

Being assigned to Reverend Burns as his assistant was perhaps the happiest day of the newly-named Sister Elena's life for she found in him a man with dedication and devotion equal to, if not greater than, her own. Since that fateful day twelve years ago, Sister Elena has accompanied Reverend Burns wherever he was sent, whatever he did, and did everything in her power to assist this great man.

So when Reverend Burns decided to press on to Leisis despite apparent orders to the contrary, Sister Elena of course followed.

Up for Love: Maybe. Elena's dedication to the Church consumes most of her heart, though she is susceptible to crushing on persons with strong wills, clear convictions, and fanatical dedication (*coughlikethereverendcough*).

Other: If you need something crazy to happen, Elena's your Sister.

Luna
.outside a coffee house.

Dawn smiled on the people of Riordan. The sunlight tipped gently into the town's streets as dawn approached; in the distance, a horse gently whinnied. A girl, her skin pale and sunless against the brown dust of the soil, shuffled lazily against a house, her pale hand reaching out to touch the rough, grainy wall. A slow step forwards...and then pause. She stared at her feet.

Hurts. Was the only word that came to her head. She bent down and touched her shoes; nothing happened. The dawn swayed into the town; she looked up, and caught the first hints of sunlight. So pretty. So very, very pretty.

"Give me all your money, girl, now."

She turned around, a placid expression on her face. It was a knife. She looked up from it to the man who held it; exhausted, tired, bearded. She giggled, almost vacantly. "You look funny."

"Do you think it's a joke?!" He almost shouted at her. "Hand it over right now!"

"Oh." She reached into her robes and lightly handed him a purse. "Here you go." He stared at her before nervously backing away, as if she was something foreign, something...odd. She smiled at him and waved. "Bye bye Mister!"

He turned his back on her and made a run for it.

.inside a pub.

She adjusted her robes habitually as she stepped into the dark, but lively place. Someone was playing music. There was a clink of glasses; someone started laughing. She smiled, too, and made her way towards the counter. "Hello, good sir."

He stared at her. "What's a little lady like yourself doing here?" He continued rubbing the glasses. "This is no place for women."

"I was wondering where - " Someone brushed against her. She glanced up; it was a young man. He looked slightly disturbed. "Oh, hello."

"Hello." He frowned and tried to make his way past her; she reached and grabbed his arm. He paused and glanced at her. "Are you alright?"

"My name is Luna."

"Oh. Hello. I'm Lucas." He frowned, as if he was trying to figure her out. "Do you need any help?"

"I don't really know. Maybe you could tell me where I am?"

"Sorry." He looked sheepish. "But I'm just as lost as you are."

"Maybe we can be lost together?"

"Uhm." He stared. "I guess."

She giggled and pointed towards the exit. "Let’s go."

"I..." He was still staring as she tugged him out of the room. She smiled at him good-naturedly, not noticing the young man in the corner who had just risen up as if to follow them...

Arila

"Hold still, will you?"

Her patient shifted again, trying to keep his eyes open. "I could if you turned that light down!"

Arila sighed, going to close the curtains so no light fell over his blue eye. He finally relaxed, but now she was in shadow while he worked. Not like this was something new.

"Damn drought," he muttered as she put drops in his eye. At least he didn't flinch much from those. "It's getting brighter out there."

She sighed and let him blink the drops in. "I'm working on it, Aiden..."

He smiled at her behind her back, making sure to keep his eyes in the shadow. He knew she'd be checking his eyes more in-depth, since he complained. "I'm sure the latest wave of illness doesn't help."

There was a muffled swear. Aiden chuckled. "Thought so."

"Another two dead and everybody wants my hide for letting it happen." She still had her back turned, putting away everything she'd just used. "There's only so much a healer can do."

"And, of course," Aiden said lightly, being able to recite the next line from memory. "They haven't been listening so part of that was their fault."

She just nodded stiffly. She was drawing out the appointment. They both knew it, and didn't care. Arila realized she couldn't keep him around forever (his pupil was dilated enough) and went back in front of him, pulling back his eyelid so she could look into his eye more easily. She'd looked into his eye just recently; there was no need for her jeweller's magnifying glass.

"You're fine," she said, stepping back. "It is just getting brighter."

Aiden sighed. "And I can't afford to block out the light."

Arila paused as she listened, cleaning up the space in front of the kitchen that had long been dedicated to her patients. She wasn't sure what generation of her family had converted their house to be part healer's shop, part home. But now, it was only her or her grandmother who did anything here.

Should she, or not...

Arila decided against not giving Aiden anything else for his eye. Even though he'd not done anything to bring it on himself, she had to ration her supplies. In the past three years she'd been forced to do that. There wasn't enough trade, or farmland, to properly replenish her stock. Even her gardens weren't providing as much as she needed. There wasn't enough water to feed her imported plants.

"Get outta here," she snapped. "That's all I can do."

He nodded and saluted on his way out.

William

Morning breeze brushes through William's loose hair as he stands, leaned against a wall of his own house in the outskirts of Leisis. Rising sun behind the horizon of poor fields to the west illuminates his troubled pale face. His deep eyes are fixed on a group of men carrying two corpses to the local graveyard, with them the village has become once smaller. Is there any chance left? I wonder.

"Morning, William. Up early like usual?" A voice of his middle-aged neighbor pulls him back to the reality. An immediate smile hosts his face with risen eyebrows. Just, it's partially a professional act.
"Ah, mornin', Max. Same could be told to you, how's your kid feeling?" Cases that have no use to him, but he still asks, such is his nature.
"Slightly better, but it's slow, not enough water..." A sad feeling takes over Max.
"Let's just be happy it's even for a little bit better." William responds with kind tone, returning Max his previous mood.
"True, true, Will. Just a few days more and it can end up good!"
I wonder how it feels being an idealist... Nevermind.

"Heh, let's hope so." William would tell more, but he realizes that those words would harm Max and that would be no good. In order to escape he quickly thinks up the closest task he has to do.
"Max, sorry mate, but I think Aiden will need me for a check up, so catch you later, alright? Take care!" Slowly, to not be suspicious, William heads towards Arila's house as he knows, that Aiden can be always found there in the morning.

Walking through the almost empty streets his heart aches as he recalls how these streets looked like years ago, lively with cheerful taste in the air, now, it's like a ghost town with sorrow. Rarely kids can be seen playing outside with very simple wooden toys, many of the abandoned houses are slowly deconstructed for material that could be used elsewhere. The village has become a small community, which is a tremendous shame, but at the same time, oddly, for William it feels like people are finally more bonded to each other than ever before.
Tough time makes great friends eh. I truly wonder.