Post by Annasiel on Nov 4, 2015 15:22:10 GMT
Blind Justice
>Harbor Ordinance
As with any novice turned Justicar, Aurora has been initiated into the order through the process of ordination. This is one of the three forbidden spells listed in the Heliocholex, learned only by the Guardians of Harbor. The ritual takes a literal turn on 'blind justice', sacrificing the eyes in exchange for flight and strength. As a result, the newly ordained Justicar is able to materialize a double pair of wings from their back, with which they are able to navigate the sky with relative ease. These wings can be created and unmade at will to allow easier ground navigation, though this is too draining for constant use.
Additionally, Aurora has a form of aura sight. It is not nearly strong enough to replace her lost vision, but allows her to avoid collision with living objects and to detect incoming magical projectiles. If any of the aforementioned objects are shielded, she will be unable to detect them, and doesn't have the means to remove said concealment. When in battle, she can extend her vision to include mundane items as well, such as swords and walls, but this is harmful to use for extended periods of time.
>Penance
All new initiates to Harbor are crafted a silver charm, known as a relic. This can be a piece of jewelry, or a token, or even a piercing of some kind. When called by its name, the relic will transform into a weapon by which the Harbor-dwellers are meant to strike down evil. While the material is silver, the magic imbued gives both relic and weapon high resilience to wear or corrosion.
Aurora's relic is a small blade charm that hangs off a thong on her right wrist. It's name is Penance, and when called, it transforms into a 5'5 long zweihander. The sword is light, for its size, and the Justicar can wield it with relative ease even one-handed. It has a wide cross-guard, an elongated hilt, and two mounds near the base of the blade that allows for easy half-swording. Her style with this blade is calculated, honed by martial training, and she can shift between a variety basic stances. Switching a stance generally takes a single tempo or less.
>Battle Stances
Mainly for my reference than for yours. A list of common battle stances for a zweihander sword. Much of fighting with the sword is merely changing stances. In addition to these, which are all two-handed, Aurora can also use a haphazard, single-handed style that mainly consists of frantic, chaotic swinging.
>Biography
A thin spiral of smoke slid through the stagnant air. Borne aloft by some force of nature, it wisped across the dark room, lighting on the features of a sleeping girl. She awoke with a sneeze. The air smelled like charred wood, but a curious, rancid scent hid under the wintery aroma. Curious and a little frightened, the child opened her eyes. Other tendrils settled around her, ghosts upbrought in a spectral danse macabre, stinging her sensitive sclera. The girl lay enamored, held fast by such a curious sight, almost certain this was the evanescent lingering of a past beheld dream. As she regained her sleep-stolen senses, she noticed the echoing cries and shouts from some other room. The child sat up, sliding her feet into the woolen slippers bedside. Silently, she stole towards the bedroom door, slowly opening it into the hall beyond. Outside, the smoke was thicker, and it tickled the girl’s lungs. A hacking cough racked her body, for a moment drowning out the distant sounds. Wheezing, she realized with startling clarity that there was a house fire.
“Mommy? Daddy?” she whispered to the empty corridor, her throat constricted by the rapidly thickening vapors. Clearing her throat, she tried again, but no voice responded but her own, no near noise sounded but her quickening heart.
Growing frantic, the child ran, her padded feet making soft footfalls on the wooden floor, her harsh breath forcing its way into the unwelcoming air. She ran towards the noises, hoping to find someone she knew in the now terrifying home. Through portrait lined vestibule, into oaken doorway, past looming chifferobe she sped, until the voices were so loud that they could only be nearby. Spinning around a corner, the living room lay before the girl in shambles. In the center, two men stood. They wore queer robes, draped over them loosely like bathing garments, and held glimmering weapons in their hands. All this, however, was overshadowed by the foreign appendages that protruded from their backs. Both of the strangers had four wings, feathered unlike any birds the young one had ever seen, and shifting with life such monstrous things should never possess.
“...think we’ve cleared out most of this wing. The Reed informant is still hiding somewhere, and the Don hasn’t reared his head yet,” one of the men was saying. “The fire in the kitchens is out of control, so there’s no hope of salvaging the house. I say we watch for people fleeing the house, and let the rest bake.”
“The Don has children,” the other, older man began, but his companion interrupted him.
“And they are accomplices to his acts, whether they know it or not. Collateral. Even if they could be saved, should we risk valuable arbiters to save them? We didn’t light this stupid blaze, and we hold no responsibility if the brats are cooked. If we find them escaping, we’ll make a decision then.”
The young girl was backed against the wall, locked in place by seeping dread. Her breath, already lacking from the impure air, dwindled to a flutter. In place of a stomach, some vile being had given her a belly of rocks. Don. Informant. Bake. Fire. Collateral. She didn’t have the slightest idea what these uninvited visitors were attesting, nor what their purpose in coming might be. All she knew was there were people she didn’t know in the living room, her family was missing, and the house was on fire. Just then, the older man whipped his head in her direction. Though his eyes were covered by a filmy hood, the child could feel the intensity shot in her direction. The gods have mercy, he knew she was here.
“Little girl, come here,” he said, his voice soft and comforting. The other looked startled.
“Little girl? What madness is this, Bastion? There…” but he too was interrupted in a show of karma.
“You are blind, Felix,” the one named Bastion replied, scornfully. His comrade, Felix, grimaced.
“You took the same price as me, you old hypocrite,” he sneered. Bastion laughed, a deep, booming guffaw.
“There are more ways of seeing than you think. If you payed attention to your training and respected your superiors for once, you would come to realize this. Now, little girl,” he took a step towards the quaking youth, a liver-spotted hand outstretched. “Calm yourself. We wish you no harm. What is your name?”
The child opened and closed her mouth, but voice had fled with comfort. All she could do was smack her lips like a waterless trout. The old man, grim face awash with pity, lowered the billowing cloth from his head. In place of eyes, two dark holes adorned his face, lacking of both life and emotion.
“We should kill her. She’s the blood of scum,” Felix murmured. Bastion waved him aside.
“That is not our way. I will not have the Harbor fall any more than it already has. We are taking the girl with us.”
Sputtering, the younger man portrayed a look of shock that was almost comical. After regaining his composure, he turned to rattle on his senior, but Bastion’s mind was set. One of his mitts fell on the young girl’s shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
“I-I-I… where’s my daddy?” the child finally stuttered. “I don’t wanna to go. Where’s my daddy? I want my daddy!”
Sadly frowning at her now cascading tears, reminiscing about some past event long faded from life, Bastion gave her an answer.
“Your father was a bad man. He broke the law, and now he faces the consequence.”
They named her Aurora, which meant ‘Dawn’ in the old tongue.
Every initiate to Harbor took a new name, a sign of the new life they had to take. All from before was to be forgotten, all the future to be ignored. All that mattered was the present, and the laws which it followed. All edicts of the great floating curia were said to come from God. That was something new as well, this notion of a singular being, as apart from the ancient nature powers she had previously held. He was said to be the face of justice, laying the lash on all who sinned, promising light and glory for the virtuous. After death, all were said to face this God for judgment. In life, they had to face his followers. Ten-thousand strong, Harbor proved a formidable force. Formed by the great prophet Tultalar, its only purpose was to uphold the laws and spread the faith. The fortress raided no lands, nor did it boast great feasts or tourneys, nor did it foster merchant or market or coin. The inhabitants lived on the repossessed goods of the accused, having little time for additional greed. As it said in the Heliocholex, the penalty for greed was a severed hand.
Under the watchful eye of her patron, Aurora was raised from novice to initiate, and from initiate to Justicar. On the night she lost her eyes, she shed few tears, for the girl knew it was the proper path. The Harbor had saved her from the darkness of sin, and placed her on a path of righteousness. It was only just that the daughter of a criminal would take up the cloth of justice. Garbed in hood and robe, she did the deeds of her renewed home. It was two weeks after her 27th name day that Aurora gained a new jurisdiction.
“Travelers have spread disturbing word of a place known as Etirath,” Bastion told her, papers of vocation held out for her to take. She flipped through them eagerly. “It feels like it was yesterday when I found you. In the past few years, I have raised you as a daughter.”
Aurora looked up from the packet, confused. Sentiments were uncommon to the elder judge, and the words seemed foreign on his lips.
“I… I don’t want to send you out into the world. The lands are cruel, and the people vile. Nothing like the redeeming light of our Lord.”
“I’ll be fine. You trained me well.” Bastion never worried, or at least never deigned to show it. This display of concern troubled Aurora.
“You’re right. I’m just being a foolish old man. Who am I to hold you back from your first true vocation? Go, my unbound girl. Do the duty of the citadel,” and may God protect you. The place you are so eager to attend is rumored to be most dangerous. This last part the man did not say, though the thought of it was strong. With a final smile, he told his espoused daughter his goodbyes, and left his doubts for the sleepless nights sure to come.
>Personal Details
Name: Aurora
Age: 27
Race: Human
Sex: Female
Height: 5'6
Weight: 127 lbs
Occupation: Harbor Justicar
>Knell Glyphs
Listed in the Heliocholex, the sacred text of harbor, are three books. The first is Creed, the rules the Harbor initiates are expected to uphold. The next is Law, the rules the Justicar are expected to enforce. Finally comes Knells, the judgments enacted for disobeying the codes set forth in both of the first books. The Knells are ancient magic, glyphs handed down through the generations as weapons by which the Justicar arm themselves. These glyphs can be cast in two styles: a quick 'battlefield release' that takes less than five seconds, but is weakened, and a significantly slower 'extended release' that works at full effect.
Name: Aurora
Age: 27
Race: Human
Sex: Female
Height: 5'6
Weight: 127 lbs
Occupation: Harbor Justicar
>Knell Glyphs
Listed in the Heliocholex, the sacred text of harbor, are three books. The first is Creed, the rules the Harbor initiates are expected to uphold. The next is Law, the rules the Justicar are expected to enforce. Finally comes Knells, the judgments enacted for disobeying the codes set forth in both of the first books. The Knells are ancient magic, glyphs handed down through the generations as weapons by which the Justicar arm themselves. These glyphs can be cast in two styles: a quick 'battlefield release' that takes less than five seconds, but is weakened, and a significantly slower 'extended release' that works at full effect.
Name | Inscription | Glyph | Casting Time | Battlefield Release | Extended Release |
Grace | "I find no better tell of Grace than evil left without a trace; redemption for the wounded hearts before they sure be torn apart." | 2 s; 10 s 30 s cooldown | The target is healed of any minor abrasions, lesions, or scratches. Any flowing blood begins to clot. While it only takes two seconds to cast the initial glyph, the spell itself works slowly, and the healing will cease if interrupted. | The glyph is projected with a 5 ft diameter on the ground. Anyone inside experiences the same positive healing effects as in the battlefield release. The glyph remains in place as long as the caster has it active. | |
Fortitude | "In darkness, find the strength to stand with noble allies at your hand. A fire lit inside your chest will leave you willful, strong and blessed." | 1 s; 10 s 20 s cooldown | A target is filled with a sense of euphoric courage. This feeling overpowers all other, weaker sensations, trumping any pain or fear the target may be experiencing. The effect can be dangerous, potentially causing an exacerbation of injuries due to the lack of pain. The effect fades when the glyph is no longer active. | The glyph is projected into the air, manifesting as a 1 ft diameter symbol. All people considered allies who are able to see the glyph will feel its effects. The effects last as long as the glyph is visible and active. | |
Hope | "Though vile evil lies in wait beyond the hold of Harbor's gates, with Hope you shall fend off the strikes that come from forces of the night." | 2 s; 15 s 60 s cooldown | When the glyph is cast, it forms on the off-hand arm of the caster, acting as a shield against any physical or magical assaults. It has a diameter of 2 feet, and the apparent strength of a typical steel round shield. The shield remains active until the caster negates it, or it shatters from a too powerful blow. | The extended release forms a shield over a specific area, creating a defensive dome with a 30 ft or less diameter, and a 20 ft or less ceiling that is directly proportional to the diameter of the shield. | |
Justice | "Fire called on villains thralls will pierce the shade of shadow's shawl, and meet the cold and blackened heart as burning vengeance it imparts." | 2 s; 7 s 10 s cooldown | The glyph materializes in the air while being cast regardless of the release desired. If the casting is stopped before the extended release is reached, the glyph explodes violently in the intended direction. | If the glyph is cast for the full 7 seconds, instead of exploding haphazardly, it releases a directed fireball. This ball travels at a speed of 30 ft per second, and will explode upon collision with any solid object. After it travels for 200 ft, it fizzles out. | |
Honesty | "Kill the lies, uphold the truth! Oh poor insurgents raised from youth to think that honesty's a game; well, let their trustless tongues be tamed." | 3 s 60 s cooldown | -none- | After the glyph is cast, it will materialize in the air before the intended target. As long as the caster keeps it active, the target will be heavily compelled to tell the truth. Lying will bring physical and emotional pain, while honesty provides a sense of elation. | |
Temperance | "Bodies bound are sure as all to follow through with any law, so those who run and those who flee shall meet with Temperance on their knees." | 3 s; 10 s 60 s cooldown | After the glyph is cast, it will materialize near and attempt to catch the target. It won't entrap them, merely trip them up or disorient them by providing an immediate force against their motion. As soon as the glyph meets resistance, it shatters, its job being completed. | The glyph will form on the ground below the target, immediately dragging them into it. The force holding the target in the glyph is equal to 100x their own mass, making a gravitational prison only the strongest are able to escape. The glyph will shatter when met with a strong enough opposing force, or when the caster deactivates it. | |
Faith | "The future's chasm lies ahead, dark and haunting in its spread, but with the hope of Faith you may leap beyond, and take the day." | 1 s 5 s cooldown | The glyph appears in the air where it is willed, acting as a one-time launchpad. Any physical object that collides with it is repelled in the opposite direction with double the initial momentum. The side that repels always manifests facing the caster. | -none- | |
Absolution | "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, as is the way of the world, forsooth. A hand for a hand, a soul for a soul, a curse to be cast that completes it for all." | 30 s 1 day cooldown | -none- | The caster must maintain physical contact with the target for the entire casting time. Upon completion, the glyph forms on the chest of both parties. Any damage done to one party results in the same damage to the other, and when one dies, both die. Once the glyphs are set, they are impossible to remove without the intervention of some outside person who is learned in casting magic. |
>Harbor Ordinance
As with any novice turned Justicar, Aurora has been initiated into the order through the process of ordination. This is one of the three forbidden spells listed in the Heliocholex, learned only by the Guardians of Harbor. The ritual takes a literal turn on 'blind justice', sacrificing the eyes in exchange for flight and strength. As a result, the newly ordained Justicar is able to materialize a double pair of wings from their back, with which they are able to navigate the sky with relative ease. These wings can be created and unmade at will to allow easier ground navigation, though this is too draining for constant use.
Additionally, Aurora has a form of aura sight. It is not nearly strong enough to replace her lost vision, but allows her to avoid collision with living objects and to detect incoming magical projectiles. If any of the aforementioned objects are shielded, she will be unable to detect them, and doesn't have the means to remove said concealment. When in battle, she can extend her vision to include mundane items as well, such as swords and walls, but this is harmful to use for extended periods of time.
>Penance
All new initiates to Harbor are crafted a silver charm, known as a relic. This can be a piece of jewelry, or a token, or even a piercing of some kind. When called by its name, the relic will transform into a weapon by which the Harbor-dwellers are meant to strike down evil. While the material is silver, the magic imbued gives both relic and weapon high resilience to wear or corrosion.
Aurora's relic is a small blade charm that hangs off a thong on her right wrist. It's name is Penance, and when called, it transforms into a 5'5 long zweihander. The sword is light, for its size, and the Justicar can wield it with relative ease even one-handed. It has a wide cross-guard, an elongated hilt, and two mounds near the base of the blade that allows for easy half-swording. Her style with this blade is calculated, honed by martial training, and she can shift between a variety basic stances. Switching a stance generally takes a single tempo or less.
>Battle Stances
Mainly for my reference than for yours. A list of common battle stances for a zweihander sword. Much of fighting with the sword is merely changing stances. In addition to these, which are all two-handed, Aurora can also use a haphazard, single-handed style that mainly consists of frantic, chaotic swinging.
>Biography
A thin spiral of smoke slid through the stagnant air. Borne aloft by some force of nature, it wisped across the dark room, lighting on the features of a sleeping girl. She awoke with a sneeze. The air smelled like charred wood, but a curious, rancid scent hid under the wintery aroma. Curious and a little frightened, the child opened her eyes. Other tendrils settled around her, ghosts upbrought in a spectral danse macabre, stinging her sensitive sclera. The girl lay enamored, held fast by such a curious sight, almost certain this was the evanescent lingering of a past beheld dream. As she regained her sleep-stolen senses, she noticed the echoing cries and shouts from some other room. The child sat up, sliding her feet into the woolen slippers bedside. Silently, she stole towards the bedroom door, slowly opening it into the hall beyond. Outside, the smoke was thicker, and it tickled the girl’s lungs. A hacking cough racked her body, for a moment drowning out the distant sounds. Wheezing, she realized with startling clarity that there was a house fire.
“Mommy? Daddy?” she whispered to the empty corridor, her throat constricted by the rapidly thickening vapors. Clearing her throat, she tried again, but no voice responded but her own, no near noise sounded but her quickening heart.
Growing frantic, the child ran, her padded feet making soft footfalls on the wooden floor, her harsh breath forcing its way into the unwelcoming air. She ran towards the noises, hoping to find someone she knew in the now terrifying home. Through portrait lined vestibule, into oaken doorway, past looming chifferobe she sped, until the voices were so loud that they could only be nearby. Spinning around a corner, the living room lay before the girl in shambles. In the center, two men stood. They wore queer robes, draped over them loosely like bathing garments, and held glimmering weapons in their hands. All this, however, was overshadowed by the foreign appendages that protruded from their backs. Both of the strangers had four wings, feathered unlike any birds the young one had ever seen, and shifting with life such monstrous things should never possess.
“...think we’ve cleared out most of this wing. The Reed informant is still hiding somewhere, and the Don hasn’t reared his head yet,” one of the men was saying. “The fire in the kitchens is out of control, so there’s no hope of salvaging the house. I say we watch for people fleeing the house, and let the rest bake.”
“The Don has children,” the other, older man began, but his companion interrupted him.
“And they are accomplices to his acts, whether they know it or not. Collateral. Even if they could be saved, should we risk valuable arbiters to save them? We didn’t light this stupid blaze, and we hold no responsibility if the brats are cooked. If we find them escaping, we’ll make a decision then.”
The young girl was backed against the wall, locked in place by seeping dread. Her breath, already lacking from the impure air, dwindled to a flutter. In place of a stomach, some vile being had given her a belly of rocks. Don. Informant. Bake. Fire. Collateral. She didn’t have the slightest idea what these uninvited visitors were attesting, nor what their purpose in coming might be. All she knew was there were people she didn’t know in the living room, her family was missing, and the house was on fire. Just then, the older man whipped his head in her direction. Though his eyes were covered by a filmy hood, the child could feel the intensity shot in her direction. The gods have mercy, he knew she was here.
“Little girl, come here,” he said, his voice soft and comforting. The other looked startled.
“Little girl? What madness is this, Bastion? There…” but he too was interrupted in a show of karma.
“You are blind, Felix,” the one named Bastion replied, scornfully. His comrade, Felix, grimaced.
“You took the same price as me, you old hypocrite,” he sneered. Bastion laughed, a deep, booming guffaw.
“There are more ways of seeing than you think. If you payed attention to your training and respected your superiors for once, you would come to realize this. Now, little girl,” he took a step towards the quaking youth, a liver-spotted hand outstretched. “Calm yourself. We wish you no harm. What is your name?”
The child opened and closed her mouth, but voice had fled with comfort. All she could do was smack her lips like a waterless trout. The old man, grim face awash with pity, lowered the billowing cloth from his head. In place of eyes, two dark holes adorned his face, lacking of both life and emotion.
“We should kill her. She’s the blood of scum,” Felix murmured. Bastion waved him aside.
“That is not our way. I will not have the Harbor fall any more than it already has. We are taking the girl with us.”
Sputtering, the younger man portrayed a look of shock that was almost comical. After regaining his composure, he turned to rattle on his senior, but Bastion’s mind was set. One of his mitts fell on the young girl’s shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
“I-I-I… where’s my daddy?” the child finally stuttered. “I don’t wanna to go. Where’s my daddy? I want my daddy!”
Sadly frowning at her now cascading tears, reminiscing about some past event long faded from life, Bastion gave her an answer.
“Your father was a bad man. He broke the law, and now he faces the consequence.”
They named her Aurora, which meant ‘Dawn’ in the old tongue.
Every initiate to Harbor took a new name, a sign of the new life they had to take. All from before was to be forgotten, all the future to be ignored. All that mattered was the present, and the laws which it followed. All edicts of the great floating curia were said to come from God. That was something new as well, this notion of a singular being, as apart from the ancient nature powers she had previously held. He was said to be the face of justice, laying the lash on all who sinned, promising light and glory for the virtuous. After death, all were said to face this God for judgment. In life, they had to face his followers. Ten-thousand strong, Harbor proved a formidable force. Formed by the great prophet Tultalar, its only purpose was to uphold the laws and spread the faith. The fortress raided no lands, nor did it boast great feasts or tourneys, nor did it foster merchant or market or coin. The inhabitants lived on the repossessed goods of the accused, having little time for additional greed. As it said in the Heliocholex, the penalty for greed was a severed hand.
Under the watchful eye of her patron, Aurora was raised from novice to initiate, and from initiate to Justicar. On the night she lost her eyes, she shed few tears, for the girl knew it was the proper path. The Harbor had saved her from the darkness of sin, and placed her on a path of righteousness. It was only just that the daughter of a criminal would take up the cloth of justice. Garbed in hood and robe, she did the deeds of her renewed home. It was two weeks after her 27th name day that Aurora gained a new jurisdiction.
“Travelers have spread disturbing word of a place known as Etirath,” Bastion told her, papers of vocation held out for her to take. She flipped through them eagerly. “It feels like it was yesterday when I found you. In the past few years, I have raised you as a daughter.”
Aurora looked up from the packet, confused. Sentiments were uncommon to the elder judge, and the words seemed foreign on his lips.
“I… I don’t want to send you out into the world. The lands are cruel, and the people vile. Nothing like the redeeming light of our Lord.”
“I’ll be fine. You trained me well.” Bastion never worried, or at least never deigned to show it. This display of concern troubled Aurora.
“You’re right. I’m just being a foolish old man. Who am I to hold you back from your first true vocation? Go, my unbound girl. Do the duty of the citadel,” and may God protect you. The place you are so eager to attend is rumored to be most dangerous. This last part the man did not say, though the thought of it was strong. With a final smile, he told his espoused daughter his goodbyes, and left his doubts for the sleepless nights sure to come.