Prolouge:

The wind howled across the montaintops, sandblasting the bare peaks and cracking rocks. No foliage could resist it's constant onslaught, and the massive cliffs were completely barren, tall towers of dull grey rock.

The sun was dipping down towards the horizon, and the sky was flushed a vivid, firey red. High overhead, clouds chased each other across the gathering dusk, and the first stars began to twinkle into view against the void.

Down on the plateau, the mighty city of Tramaklan stood proud, it's tall, spiked towers siluhetted against the dying sun. One by one, flickering lights appeared in the windows and the streets, as firey torches were lit throughout the town. The massive walls towered high, well over 50 feet tall, as though challenging invaders to assault their strength.

High up on a ledge overlooking the plateau, two figures stood silently, staring down at the city below.

The first figure reached up with a gloved hand and brushed his long, bleached-white hair away from his eyes. He was a full seven and a half feet tall, and dressed in long black robes, made of some kind of flexible plastic. His long, pointed ears betrayed his Elven heratage. His right hand wore a tight glove made of the same material as his robes, but his left hand was covered in a delecate latticework of metal, grafted right onto his skin. The metal was flexible, and did not restrict his movement. He also wore a metal implant on his right temple, circular, with a small holographic screen reaching out infront of his right eye. His face and body were slender, almost delicate looking, but the image belied his considerable strength.

"Very impressive for a neutral kingdom." he muttered in a smooth voice. "I can see why the meeting was called here."

The other figure nodded slowly. He was a Dragon, standing over twelve feet tall, average height for a male. His eyes were reptillian slits, glowing yellow in the light from the setting sun. Two large crests swept back from his head where his ears were, and two massive wings stood neatly folded on his back. At full streach, his wingspan was at least fifteen feet! His scales glinted a metallic green, apart for a row of yellow scales running down his chest and stomach, to the end of his long, thick tail. On his back he wore two massive swords, so big that most other races would need two hands to wield one of them! they were arrainged in a cross between his wings, the grips of each sticking up behind his shoulders.

"If the roumours are true we'll need all the protection we can get."

The Elf shot him a sly grin. "You getting scared, Sekt?"

The Dragon returned the grin a moment, but then became serious again. "I'm being reallistic." he replied. "If the Griffins really are mobilising again, then the whole world is in danger."

The Elf's face hardened as he turned to look over the city again. "True. It's fortunate the Guilds were able to call a truce. We won't survive if we don't work together." He let out a long, pensive sigh. "I just hope it's possible."

"It will be, Aellias." murmured Sekt quietly. "The Guilds have been fighting for millenia, but they'll see the danger here."

Aellias fixed the Dragon with a stare. "I wish I shared your confidence brother. I hope you're right." There was a pause for a moment, then Aellias turned and set off down the path. "Come on." he said. "Let's find a room before all the inns close."

OOC:

(If this RP takes off it will be the first in a series of RPs exploring the cultures, areas, and dangers of the world of Asterion.)

Asterion is a flat world (like the ancient theories about the Earth), and it's sun orbits it, rather than the other way round. A lot of the world is still unnexplored, especially on the outer rim, but in the known world, there are four main continents, each devided into riegons. (I have drawn out a map of the world, and when I find somewhere to upload it I will edit in a link here.)

History

For all of recorded history the people of Asterion have been at war. Initially the battles were racial, fought between the multitudes of different spiecies, but those wars came to an end aproximately three thousand years ago. The cause?

A threat emerged from the Savage Lands, far to the west of the western continent, on the outer rim, a threat so large that it threatened to destroy them all! The evil Griffin race, seperated from the other races for millenia, mounted an all out attack on the rest of the world with an enormous army.

The races realised that unless they worked together they would be defeated. Slowly they began to co-operate, fighting alongside each other not with each other, and eventually the Griffins were beaten and driven back to the lands from which they came.

The battle won and the racial boundaries dropped, the people of Asterion suddenly felt empty. All they knew was battle, and without a war to define themselves they were at a loss. They decided to take comfort in the only thing they knew: conflict. Battle Guilds were set up throughout the world, each professing different beliefs, cultures, and most importantly, fighting styles. Anybody from any of the races could join, if they agreed with the teachings. The Guilds would regularly spar with each other in organised competitions, fighting for their reputation.

But their teaching steadily became more seperated and people began to take the competitions too seriously. Fighting became a religion, and all who tought differing views became heratics. In this way, Asterion once again became a war-world, only this time, because of the Guild's training, the wars were far more visious and bloody than before.

Now, though, roumours have surfaced that the Griffins are once again planning to move on the rest of the world, so the Guilds have reluctantly called a truce and sent their best warriors to Tramaklan, capital city of the nutral Heyka riegon in the east, to discuss their options.

If they do not work together they will be destroyed, but with so much hate on all sides, will they be able to overcome their differences...?

The Guilds

There are eight different Battle Guilds, each with it's own teachings and fighting style. When creating a character you must sign up to one of these Guilds. Please note that you CANNOT join two guilds at once. It is possible that some characters do not agree with the conflict and have friendships in other Guilds (My two characters are from different Guilds) but no Guild would ever allow someone who had a history with another Guild to join them.

The Guilds are listed below, along with: Riegon the guild inhabits, Capital city of that riegon, Fighting style. Also below the Guild description is a note of extra points that you will need to add in your character profile, specific to that Guild. (Note: you do not need to come from the capital city. If you wish you can create your own town in your Guild's riegon and have this as your hometown.)

The Mages:
Riegon: The Monsoon Jungle. North of the western continent.
Capital: Waters Meeting. At the head of the Azure Lake.
Fighting Style: Magic.
The Mages believe that in order to harness the forces of nature in battle you must live in harmony with nature, so all their cities are built around the forest rather than destroying it. Mages can either become proficiant in a particular type of magic, or learn all of them, but not to the same power as one who specialises.
Extras for Profile: Element of Magic, Skill Level.

The Mecha Lords:
Riegon: The Techral Megaopolis. Northern continent.
Capital: The Administration Sector.
Fighting Style: Advanced Robotics
The biggest riegon on Asterion, the Techral Megaopolis is actually one gigantic city, covering hundreds of square miles! The city is devided into Sectors, and is run from the Administration Sector at the heart of the city. The Mecha Lords are highly technologicly advanced, and their city is incredibly futuristic. In battle, they use large robotic mechs, ranging from simple robo-suits to fully automated artificial intelligence! (Note: no ZoE style five-storey-high orbital frames please. They would be too powerful. Try to stay below 20 feet tall.)
Extras for Profile: Name and Apperance of Mech, Mech Weapons.

The Techno-Mages:
Riegon: Akohk-Al'Sete. Northern continent, west of The Techral Megaopolis
Capital: Sehl-Ket
Fighting Style: Techno-Magic
The Techno-Mages were formed when rebels from the Mages and the Mecha Lords joined forces and set up their own Guild. Half way in between the two extremes, they teach that nature must be respected, but also used. They use technology to simulate magic attacks (Note: these spells are just as potent as a Mages spells, only their source is technological, not spiritual.) and also to enhance their physical forms. The culture has evolved to worship technology as a god. Like Mages, they can specialise in a particular magic field, or generalise.
Extras for Profile: Element of Magic, Skill Level, Mechanical Implants.

The Warriors:
Riegon: The Vargris Riegon, Eastern continent, south of The Great Desert
Capital: Castle Thar.
Fighting Style: Weapon Baised.
The Warriors are a proud and noble Guild, as can be seen by their strong, medeval style castles. They are trained in the use of weapons, be it swords, lances, axes, or anything else. Honor is everything to them, and they will never run from a fight, even if it is hopeless. Having no magic skills, they trust their lives to their weapon. Each Warrior is allowed only ONE type of weapon, (switching between different weapons would reduce effectiveness of both) and must train highly with it.
Extras for Profile: Weapon, Special Moves.

The Fighters:
Riegon: Shai-Tao. Eastern continent, bordering with the Warrior Guild on the west, The Great Desert to the north, and The Savage Lands to the east.
Capital: Quai-Li.
Fighting Style: Physical Fighting.
The Fighters Guild was set up by Sensei Chai Kumoh, and is one of the oldest of the Guilds. Specialising in all forms of martial arts and physical fighting, it follows the teachings of the Holy Dojo, baised in the capital city. Each member of the Guild can learn up to three different fighting styles, although most settle for just one. Fighting styles range from Kung Foo to Kickboxing, from Karate to Wrestling. The fighters rarely use weapons, although Katanas, Nunchukas, etc are allowed for some fighting styles.
Extras for Profile: Fighting Style(s), Belt (color).

The Morphers:
Riegon: The Har Riegon. Western continent, north of The Great Desert.
Capital: Rhaalk.
Fighting Style: Beast-summoning.
The Morphers are feared throughout Asterion for their powers. They teach that everybody has an inner beast hidden in their soul, and through careful training this beast can be descovered and brought out. When a beast is called, the person morphs from their natural form and becomes the animal, taking on their atributes and powers. Most morphs look like emalgams of many different animals, and many have special powers of some sort. In morph form, however, the beasts mind largely takles over, and because of this Morphers are known for their savagery and animal-like behaviour. All their cities have names that can be pronounced while in beast form, sounding like roars and barks, so the Morphers can communicate with each other even in morph form.
Extras for Profile: Beast Name and Apperance, Beast Powers, Degree of Control (that a Morpher has while in beast form).

The Snipers:
Riegon: The Western Ranch. Vast plains at the south of the western continent.
Capital: Lumber Mill.
Fighting Style: Projectile weapons. (Guns, bow and arrow, throwing weapons, etc)
Because of the speed and strength of the food animals in the Western Ranch, the local people began to develop powerful ranged weapons to hunt them. Their skill with these weapons steadily increased, until finally they decided to set up their own Guild. The way of life and culture of the Ranch is unique (simillar to the Wild West on Earth) and cannot be found anywhere else on Asterion. In battle, the Snipers are a force to be reckond with, able to eliminate a sizable army from considerable distance!
Extras for Profile: Weapon used.

The Illusionists:
Riegon: Cellestria. Cold, mountainous reigon on the icy southern continent.
Capital: The Crystal City.
Fighting Style: Mental weapons.
The Illusionist Guild has never actually been an active participent in the war, prefaring to shun contact with all other cultures alltogether. Other Guilds have occasionally attacked them, but their defences stood firm, as their weapons were very powerful! The Illusionists use the power of the mind as a weapon. Telepathy, telekenesis and other mental attacks are their arsenel, and they are very effective! Their powers do take a lot of energy, and after a prolonged stint even the greatest Illusionist would need rest, but an army of them together is more than a match for most of the other Guilds! Their hermit-like culture, however, has stopped them exploiting this fact.
Extras for Profile: (none)

Character Creation

The races of Asterion are many and varied, so pretty much anything goes here! If you like you can use a normal race (Human, Elf, Dwarf, etc) or make up your own, but if you do make it up, try to post a short racial history so everyone knows where the race fits into the world.

Obvious rules apply: No powerplaying etc. In your profile tell us your characters name and appearence, abillities, short personal history, plus any extra fields specific to the Guild you are a member of. Be imaginitive! The more varied the charaters, the more interesting the story will be!

My Profiles:

Name: Aellias Shar-Lek
Race: Elf
Appearence: (Posted IC above)
History: Brought up in the Techno-Mages' capital, he has had thorough training since a very young age, and is extremely proficient in the Guild. However he has an innate loathing of violence and wishes that the war would end and peace could come to Asterion. Met up with Sekt during a secret mission into the Warrior Guild's terretory, and found they had the same ideals, so instead of killing each other, they became friends. They have since saved each other's lives in various situations, and now consider each other brothers. Their friendship is a secret though, as their Guilds would punish them, perhaps even execute them, if they found out.
Element of Magic: Ligtning
Skill level: Master
Mechanical Implants: Metal latticework on his hand assists in spell casting. Eye implant gives Infra-red, Night vision, etc. Arm muscles have been replaced with Hydraulic Rams for enhanced strength. Skeleton re-enforced with metal to enhance defence.

Name: Sekt
Race: Dragon
Appearence: (Posted IC above)
Racial/personal History: The Dragons come from a small peninsula south of the Warriors Guild, called the Shalvasa Plateau. Here in their colony on the mountain of Cloudscrag they keep themselves to themselves and generally stay out of the affairs of others. Their culture is similar to an insect colony, with fertile females continuing the spiecies, infertile ones employed as workers, and males as soldiers. Queen Dragons can grow to be over forty feet tall, but the infertile workers are rarely more than five feet. Females never leave the colony.
Males have ventured out into the world at times, but this is only an adventurace few. Sekt was one of those few, setting off to explore the world and see new cultures. when he descovered the Warrior Guild he was fascinated by the idea of using weapons to fight (Dragons just use their strength and claws) and so joined up, picking a two sword style of fighting. He has trained hard, and has become one of the greatest Warriors in the history of the Guild!
Weapon: Two swords
Special Moves: No special moves in particular. He refuses to make any so that his opponants cannot predict his fighting style. Simply uses his strength and his wings to better the enemy.

And Finally...

This RP is very flexible, so feel free to bring up your own plot points and ideas. Most of the world of Asterion, even in the explored areas, are as yet nonexistant, ready to be filled in by all of us as we proceed through our adventure! While the RP will have plenty of action and danger, there is also charater and Guild interaction to explore. Start off with your charaters either already in, or arriving at, the city of Tramaklan for the Guild meeting.