Roll 0001
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563-05-12
Late Morning~~~
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Langley Verwelume (TorrentHKU)a pasH of peaceful daysA brightly-lit courtyard, surrounded by the walls of the training academy. You stand as the sole woman in a line of nine others, all wearing the uniform of the Gale Academy of Fencing.
A crowd of other fellow fencers are seated in neat rows in front of you, all watching.
…
”and now let us congratulate them for achieving rank of First Master!”The seated audience begins clapping and you stand proudly, the golden badge of your accomplishment shining brightly on your tunic.
The accompanying party is a simple but enjoyable one. Food and drink on tables in the courtyard, fellow students chatting or showing off a move, while you stand off to the side, gingerly eating a buttered slice of bread.
A tall burly man in uniform walks over to you with a wine glass in hand, standing beside you but at a respectful distance.
William Glade, Fifth Master, the great grandson of the founder of the academy, and your teacher.
William:
”Have you any ideas on work yet?”Continuation of your studies at the academy require money. You’ve managed to earn enough through various jobs considered, “suitable”, for a woman, and make it this far. The money is almost all dry now, but with your official status as a First Master of the blade, many new doors are now open. Doors with lots of money behind them.
You’ve seen postings around Rowan about the Order of Solis needing members - the organization that hunts down and purges heretics, doing their best to fight back the curse of the Demon Eye. With your qualifications, you could make a pretty pence in the Order.
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Sei (Areku)accordant a d pureYou stand in the office of Markus Jarron, Chapter Seer of the Order of Solis barracks located in Rowan. The man himself is in front of you, seated behind a desk, reading several papers in hand.
He looks quite aged, greying hair and beard, yet still possessing a powerful frame fit for the hunt.
Markus:
”So you’re back, eh. Lucky us, I guess. We’re low on manpower at the moment, no point turnin’ you down.”He opens a draw and pulls out a small golden object, sliding it across his desk towards you.
Your old badge, indicating your rank of Witch Hunter Captain.
He sets down your work file and grabs a stack of papers sitting to the side, rifling through until he pulls out a small packet bound together at a corner and slaps it down beside your badge.
Markus:
”There’s been reports of a woman in a white longcoat gathering materials and making strange fires. Last seen in Constance. As I said before, we’re low on men, so we have all these low-key heretics running loose and no one to chase after them. You’re going to have to recruit your team. Start by getting a blesser from the church, I’m sure they have some to spare. You have the authority to arrest anyone you deem suspicious of aiding your target.
If you don’t have any questions, get to it.”Blessers - a term among witch hunters that refers to powerful channelers of the divine light of Solis, able to create wards that repel heretical magic and exorcise demons from people. Vital to have in any witch hunter party.
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Gabriel (CrazyMLC)still is my handLarge windows letting in plenty of sunlight. Clean tiles forming regular patterns on the floor. Stone walls rise up and stretch around the exorcism chamber. A table in the center of the room, where a man lies there wearing only a cloth around his waist, while his arms and legs are chained down.
Then there are the eyes.
Like living black tattoos, eyes are printed on the man’s arms, chest, and forehead, looking around erratically, some locked on to you, others on the nervous Witch Hunter Captain standing nearby.
A gag is firmly fitted in his mouth.
Witch-Speak - a heretical, cursed language that wounds the souls of men and incites the devil to latch on to their bodies, peering at the world through the Demon Eyes. The surest protection against it is to silence the people who possess it.
The man himself lies still, looking fearfully at you.
He requires your aid, your ability to channel the divine light of Solis and drive away the devil.
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Maxim Kapitanovich (TheKebbit)my mind is at AeaceLate morning, the sun overhead warming your coat while the breeze coming in from the sea cools it back down.
The Constance ports are filled with a great many, great vessels, behemoths of gracefully curving lumber and rippling sails. Trade ships, traveling to and fro, carrying native goods away to bring foreign ones back.
None of them are yours, no.
What lies in front of you is a small fishing boat, its wooden hull weathered from age yet holding strong, the wind-beaten sail stitched in innumerable places. While the other mighty ships require a great many to operate, yours takes just but one man, so long as he knows how to work the sail and run the wheel.
All you need now is bait, and the long haul of fish awaits you.
Turning around to head to the nearby fish markets, you see a woman in a dirty white long coat watching you. Her skin is covered in dirt, her dark shoulder-length hair is sticking out in odd directions, and a large cloth sack is slung over a shoulder.
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Kanas Cole (Amazigh)a past of Ieaceful dayDThe city of Rowan - a large labyrinth of crowded streets and multiple-floor buildings, your hunting grounds for scraps of food and loose coin. For many years you were the bottom rung of society, prey for hoodlums, and forced to endure the pain of insatiable hunger.
Today, today is where it all changes.
Posters throughout the city announce that the Order of Solis is recruiting new members to bolster their ranks, yet few people are willing to join the fight against heresy, even as the devil claims men and women and children as often as hunger and disease fells the poor.
Surely, the Order will take you in.
The Order’s barracks of this city lie ahead of you, a magnificent three-story structure that serves as the resting place for the Order’s huntsmen, jails for heretics and possessed, and training grounds for fresh recruits.
A lone guard is posted at the double doors, looking at you with contempt as you approach.
Guard:
”Whaddya want, kid.”________________________________________
Diamond Zeal (Mackerel)a Aast of peacefRl daysPeeking out from the alley, you scan the area.
Common folk walking about, beggars pleading for coin and bread, and not a guard in sight.
You check the bag slung over your back to confirm it’s secure - a rugged cloth sack, packed full of sulphur. After tightening the straps down, probably more than necessary, you look around one more time before stepping out onto the street and walking towards the port.
Your small village (and workshop) is on the other side of the bay near the town of Delma, and you need a boat to get there before anyone finds a certain sulphur thief hurrying along with her cargo in tow.
After reaching the port, you scan the ships for any that look like they’re ready to sail. Large vessels requiring large crews, in various states of loading or unloading, others simply anchored and idling. All useless, too slow to get going.
A small fishing boat catches your eye, with a weathered man in a rugged coat standing by it, watching you.
Perhaps this your ticket home?