Young Writers Society

Plot- In a land where spirits walk among us and budding shamans fight a great war. The spirit world is trying to break into the real world and live again by possessing human hosts. These human possessing spirits are known as Grims. Grims and Shamans are always in constant warfare. The Shamans are ruled by a group of Elders that have a deep connection to the spirit world. Shamans live in small villages ruled by one of the twelve elders . Most Shamans are trained by their parents if not the village Elder will teach them the way of the shaman. When they turn 14 they are allowed into the spirit world to choose their animal. The Grims serve no leader and usually travel the world alone or in small groups. You are either a Shaman or a Grim.

Story so far- The Grims have been coming in greater numbers and four of the twelve villages have fallen. The Elders are coming to a summit to discuss the current situation and are being escorted by bodyguard shamans. Grims have learned of this meeting through the spirits and plan to attack.

Landscape. Picture North America with no modern technology. The Four fallen villages are in the west where Grims seem to be coming from the most. The biggest village Tala is located where modern day Florida is. The meeting of the elders will take place here.

Shamans- Have guardian animal spirits that fight by there side and grant them powers, including healing, elemental magic, time control, weather manipulation etc. The all have small wooden carvings of their animal and if destroyed they loose their powers. They short staffs for banishing spirits and channeling their powers but must carry weapons made of silver which can destroy spirits that are too strong to simply banish.

Grims- Have super strength and all have varying forms of dark psychic magic that include fire manipulation, telekinesis, mind control, spirit control. All have the ability touch an individual and take out their spirit instantly killing them. If a shaman has a guardian spirit then they are immune to this ability. Grims use this ability to kill humans so the bodies can be ready for other spirits to control. Can have any weapon they choose.

Rules.
The basic rules
No god like characters.
No killing of other characters.
No sex.
Profile

Name
Age
Gender
Affiliation (Grim or Shaman)
Power (If you are a shaman this includes a name and description of your power animal.)
Weapons:
Appearance (If you can include picture)
Personality
History
Other

If you wish as a Shaman you can include your power animal’s profile
Name:
Animal:
Gender:
Personality:

Have fun.

I might join this... If I am, I'll post a profile later.

Name- Jared

Age-18

Gender-Male

Affiliation Shaman

Power- His spirit animal is the mantis he can slow down time with the mantis spirit. Skilled at remaining still, he can stand still for several hours.

Weapons: Sai

Appearance Brown eyes, black hair, 5'9

Personality- He serves the elders with out question and has been described as cold and calculating. He never enters a battle without thinking it over and has never considered giving his life for another. He considers death a part of life, and that the weak are not meant to live.

History- His father was a weak shaman in his village, and he learned very little from him. On a mission his father died just before he was meant to claim his power animal. With this he was able to finish his training with the village elder. He has started to train his younger sister. His mother is a normal villager and he tries not to deal with her, believing her to be weak.

Other- Up for love.

Name: Manta
Animal:Mantis
Gender:Female
Personality: Doesn't talk much and is considered to be even colder then Jared.

Shaman
Name: Vega
Age: 17
Gender: Female
Affiliation: Shaman
Power: Her animal spirit is a white tiger. Meaning she can move in shadows completely hidden, she can detach her own shadow and use it as another fighter, a scrying device, and a portal. (If her shadow is in one place, she can move to that place)
Weapons: A double bladed Damascus sword.
Appearance Short very layered white/blonde hair, a pale complexion, dancer's build, amber/brown eyes and pointed features.
Personality She's tough and defiant and very independent. She holds justice over mercy and isn't afraid to kill. She's very loyal to the Shaman, though she puts across a very apathetic front. She's blunt and crude and makes split second rash decisions. She's clever, but not very book smart. She's a touch-me-not and seems kind of detached.
History She grew up with her Aunt, a shaman, who kidnapped her from her own sister, who was not a shaman. Her Aunt believed that a girl destined for greatness should grow up with someone already great. Her Aunt raised her like a warrior, and strongly believed that to spare the rod would spoil the child. (And did not believe that all work and no play would make Jack dull.) Through this strict battlefield of a home, Vega learned to rebel, lie and steal with great finesse.
Other Up for love.


Spirit
Name:Lyra
Animal: Large White Tiger
Gender: Female
Personality: Like Vega, she is defiant and strong willed, but not quite as reckless. She seems to be the voice of reason in many occasions.

Alright. I'll join. Here's my profile.

Name: Branwen or 'Gwen'.
Age: 17.
Gender: Female.
Affiliation: Shaman.
Power: Branwen's animal spirit is a black stallion, meaning she can call horses to her and talk to them, control the current environment, feel coming danger and talk to other people and their animals.
Weapons: Apart from the standard silver dagger and a meter long staff, Branwen carries a bow and arrow.
Appearance: Blue eyes and long, waist length, grey-white hair.
Personality: Fiercely competitive and strong willed, Branwen is not someone to be meddled with. Although she can be kind when she wants to be and prefers peace to war. She's clever and quick thinking while in trouble and it's saved her life numerous times, along with Senka, her animal counterpart.
History: Her parents disappeared after someone attacked her family when she turned 6. Her village Shaman took her in, healed her and then started to teach her the ways of a Shaman. Treated more like a boy then a girl from a young age, Branwen is a warrior at heart and doesn't like to be touched.
Other: Up for love. Branwen has a scar over her heart from an attempt on her life when she was 6. Branwen was born with grey hair-this has caused her to be called a demon on many occasions.


Name: Senka.
Animal: Horse (Stallion)
Gender: Male.
Personality: Senka is as fiercely competitive and strong willed as Branwen but he's more grounded and prefers wisdom and waiting to think before leaping then to rush into a dangerous situation. Senka has saved Branwen's life on numerous occasions.
*picture, just in case. *

I have to join!

Name:Tamaryn aka Tama
age:17
gender:Female
Affiliation: Shaman
Power:Tamaryn's spirit animal is Phoenix bird ,meaning she has the power to heal,and command fire and lightning.
Weapon:Yataghan
Appearance: Olive skin tone, golden eyes, slim frame, 5'5 in height,silver hair in a bobbe.
Personality:.Shy around people especially men, stubborn too.Thinks quickly on her feet when in a tough position also is very protective of others; very resouseful.
History: The last daughter of the Akamu clan. Her entire family and village was whipped out by the grims when she was only seven. After that she took refuge in the forest for two years until a shaman women found her almost completely feral, mute and starved.taking her in the shaman woman fed, gave her a place to stay and took her in as apprentice shaman. In her two years in the forest she learned how to communicate with animals and learned the secrets of the wild.
Other: Up for love, if she can get over her male-phobia.

Name:Ringo
gender: male
animal: Red/orange phoenix bird
Personality: Always arguing with Tamaryn about what to do next.Always has the best interest in Tama's decsions and is very protective of his naive young shaman.

Please, we need a few more people to join.

im in.

Name: James MacTavish
Age: 18
Gender: Male
Affiliation: Shaman
Power: His animal is a raven, giving him power over death. His power is in fitting with middle ages mythology and old native american mythology. He has the power to exorcize a spirit without a weapon (from native american society they believed that you could welcome a spirit to the void), and remove it from the body. This process takes only five seconds but he can't be disturbed. His other ability is in keeping with the middle ages mythology. He has the ability to completely kill a spirit without a weapon. This takes ten seconds and is very tiring for him, but once the process begins it is extremely painful for the spirit, and can be stopped by simply distracting James.
Weapons: A small wooden staff (about three feet long), and another short silver sword
Appearance: Like this
Personality: prefers to kill spirits rather than banish them. He's the quiet type and although he likes to kill spirits he is not reckless. He has an intense desire to keep himself safe, as well as other shamans, because their numbers are getting smaller. He is strongly able to blend into the regular human world and has a strong charm and intelligence.
History: Was raised in the smallest of the twelve villages. Was raised by human humans for the first part of his life, and then by shamans after he turned ten. He fully embraced the life and was actually quite good at it. However now he is starting to grow tired of the life and just wants to be normal, but he knows he wouldn't give the life up, so he just kills as many spirits as possible.
Other:

If you wish as a Shaman you can include your power animal’s profile
Name: Bran
Animal: Black Raven
Gender: female
Personality: quiet, keeps wanting James to develop his talents further. He says he has several more abilities that he could unlock but he is very hesitant.

Well I would like more people, but I should start this before it completely dies. So you can start. You have just been chosen to be one of the guardians for your elder on his trip.

Hopefully others will join later.

I'll be a Grim, cause there aren't any yet and they sound pretty cool =]

Name: Serra
Age: relatively young for her species [i'm not sure what a normal age would be]
Gender: female, however physical appearance depends on the gender of the human she possesses.
Affiliation: Grim
Power: "Have super strength and all have varying forms of dark psychic magic that include fire manipulation, telekinesis, mind control, spirit control. All have the ability touch an individual and take out their spirit instantly killing them."
Weapons: Small throwing knives.
Appearance: (currently and for the forseeable future)
Personality: Sly, sadistic, very insensitive. Willing to take advantage of anyone and everyone. Pretends to be helpless and weak in order to lure people into a sense of security.
History: Recently escaped the spirit world with two other Grims and is now seeking a new territory so she can release more of her kind.
Other: Her troupe her currently in th guise of humans to hide themsleves from detection, and hope to make it to the summit in order to destroy the Elders.

Im SO in

Name: Anakay
Age: 17
Gender: Female
Affiliation: Shaman
Power: Can disapear, animal is a black panther
Weapons: Shortsword
Appearance: Brown hair and Blue eyes, tallish
Personality: Quiet, but nice if you get to know her, spends alot of time with her black leopard
History: cant remeber her life
Other: Up for love

Name: Tenebrae
Animal: Black leopard
Gender:Female
Personality: Doesnt like people except for Anakay, but wont attack unless Anakay tells her too

pheonix... i love your avatar... just finished season 4, and you have my ultimate respect

Shall we start soon? =]

Yes. Phoenix said we could start. I've been trying to figure out how to start.... Hmm...

~Serra~

I crouched low to the ground, surveying the burning village with a sense of grim satisfaction. The others of my troupe were currently scouting the remains for any last souls to devour, though the possibility of this was very slim considering the number of slain humans that lay scattered around the village.
I turned away, gaze falling on the dead shaman who lay beside me. His talisman was broken in my hands, and I eyed it with distaste. Such a stupid trinket. I scowled at it for a moment more before examining the spirit that lay slain on the ground.
A tinge of regret entered my thoughts. We were here to free our cousins from slavery, not destroy them. But some spirits had been so brainwashed. This one had sought to banish me even after it's captor had died. So I'd had to take it down. I gave it a pitiful look. We could only hope that not all of our enslaved cousins had been so cowed into obedience.
I laid a hand on the body - this one, a horse. I stifled an angry snort. Could the shamans find a more demeaning way to enslave the spirits? Put them in an animals body, like a pet.
My eyes narrowed at the shaman corpse, and I snarled quietly before hurling a ball of flames at it. I glowered at the burning body, then stood up, giving the shaman talisman a final look and pocketing it. There was a chance it could come in useful later. An idea was already forming of how best to infiltrate the meeting of Elders, but it would take time to develop.
I looked back at my troupe, then called out. "Zerda! Taran! Acari!"
They appeared momentarily, disguised in human forms, I glanced over them before beckoning. "Come."
Time to move on.


[N.B I wasn't sure if all of this is correct with how Phoenix said at the beginning, but I thought that the motive of the Grims [or at least this Grim] would be that they want to 'free' the shaman's guardian spirits, who they consider to be enslaved. After all, nothing is worse than a bad guy who thinks they are good =D
But I have a few questions...
Are the guardian spirits always animals even in the spirit world?
Can Grims take the form of animals?
Also, can you kill a shaman without destroying their talisman?]

[And if anyone wants to be Zerda/Taran/Acari, feel free ]