Welcome to Gaia! ::

Hey, guys! It was just brought to my attention that I've neglected to include a closing time for the contest!

The time is January 5th, at (12PM) noon EST.

I will be locking the thread when I'm able to get online, but any one with a post timestamped after that will not be entered whether I'm online to close it or not. Please do not edit your posts once the contset closes.

User Name: musicaloner7
Name: Adara = noble in hebrew
Temper: Expedient
Do you own a pony with visible tri-wings? Do you own a member of the Lucifer line?: no to both.
Are you an active RPer?: yes, very much so. 99% is via IMs. basically all I do.
Are you willing to continue the Raven Lord tradition?: Yes I think it's fantastic.
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Personality: Adara is a very proud individual, especially of the linage that she was birthed from: Raven Lords. It is an honor that she holds dear, and strives to fufill her duty as her ancestors before her. However, to quite a few, she may seem to be socially awkward in various areas, and is commonly misunderstood. To most, she is a bit oblivious to morals. While she does have them, they don't always coincide with what the others are, or what's expected. This can lead her to be considered ruthless by most, but she simply follows what makes common/basic sense to her. She's very practical and logical based, using deduction and common sense, along with facts to find a conclusion and resolve. Disconnected from emotions and actions, doesn't quite understand them. She will like or dislike something/one based off of traits, but in general holds a neutral stance on most everyone who she doesn't have a direct connection to in one way or another. There isn't evil or good in her eyes, but there are poor choices, and good ones, that do require results that are the equivalent to them.
Prompt Number: Technically 3, but I'm just mashing up both 2+1. Hope that's ok?
RP Prompt:

Traveling was something Adara had grown to enjoy immensely, and eagerly looked forward to. A seed of wanderlust had settled its roots in her soul, sprouting, and blossoming each venture she took with her mother and siblings. The world had so much to offer and see, providing a great deal of information and titillating challenges to the senses and mind. Absorbing the new, unexplored, and unknown became a source of nutrition for the filly's developing mind, sating the craving she had to get closer to the sort of mare her mother was. Adara looked up to the magnificent creature that was her guardian, and parent, striving to become a mercenary that Allide could be proud of. It was a sort of an innate drive that pushed her to do so, and was only something she could deduce by what made the most sense. It was in her blood to be a fighter, and she could very well feel it laying dormant, just garnering strength until it would unlock the true potential instilled in her from birth. The excitement of it all made her heart quiver with anticipation... even just from thinking about it. Not only that, but it further motivated Adara to soak in all she could for the future path she was destined to follow.

Sensitive paws/talons gripped the earth ever so slightly with each step taken on the boarder between the land they'd been passing through, to the one ahead of them that lay in waiting with a crisp welcome. The previous terrain they'd scaled across had been firm with rock based minerals of all nature. It had felt nice to clutch to the sturdy footing, having her claws clutch to the edges and rough, unpredictable surfaces. In fact... she felt quite at home maneuvering about the mountainous scenery, her raven companion enjoying it just the same. He had soared high above her for the most part, enjoying the stronger winds skating under his flight feathers, keeping him airborne without the need to beat a wing. Adara felt a sense of hypnotic powers at work when she'd gaze at his beautiful form in the sky like that, able to feel as though she were resting just behind his eyes, looking through them, and seeing what he saw. It was in these moments that she would sometimes go into a trance of sorts, body moving, but mind elsewhere. While she could have easily joined him in the skies, mother had taught them that using ones legs to conquer the more difficult regions increased their power as well. Strength of ones body was a key component to becoming a worthy assassin, after all.

The remaining warmth that the mountains had provided was dissipating to allow the sharper strings of wind to make way. It sent waves upon waves of chill along the short pelt the foal possessed, her six wings folding to hug tightly against her back, and along her side. But it wasn't out of discomfort, no... for the colder nipping brought forth a refreshing sensation like submerging under a cool lake, and feeling the liquid touch the tender flesh that was hidden under such a short pelt. Enveloped by the swirling and courser winds, Adara would turn her head slightly this way and that, letting the unseeable force slide along the bends and contours of her shape, even sneaking under a few of the multitude of feathers she possessed. With this, she was feeling more refreshed, glowing white eyes peeling opening a bit wider, ears pricked straight up, her stride gaining a bit more pep with each step. They were embarking into new territory... and her nerves were standing on edge with contained intrigue.

Dark rock started to give way to coatings of white laid here and there, like the film seen atop of still water, clinging with uneven edges. As her front feet stepped into the powdery, white blanket, she was surprised to find it so... fragile, and submissive to even the lightest pressings of her feet. The fluff gave in to her every whim, flattening and leaving behind a token of her presence; a bold imprint of her feet. The same was happening for her mother ahead of her, and siblings surrounding. So fascinating.... She listened to her mother explain the strange new element they were being introduced to. Snow. Like rain, it fell from the sky, and painted along the lands with its soft embrace, allowing vegetation to rest under its safe hold, putting them in stasis to sleep until the sun returned. Very, very intriguing...

As the family continued on, the snow grew more dense, and consistent, evenly spread over the open and wide landscape. They were headed for a means of shelter to prepare for the coming night, another mountainside spotted on the distant horizon. That was their goal. Auchindoun had been sent ahead to scout out the area, confirming that there were indeed some uninhabited dens for them to reside in, coverage necessary in such a biome with unpredictable climates. Trekking along, mother also would point out the new sorts of food sources they would have available to them, explaining the importance of bark, and other woody vegetation. While Adara enjoyed the nutrition of flesh from another animal, such things were a luxury here, and not as easy to come by, so mother said. But... there were chances to get lucky upon a coney daring the open to find some greens still untouched by the icy grip.

After awhile of pushing through the resisting snow that reached up to Adara's knee's, Allide allowed her children a chance of rest, near a large nude tree that was comfortable to settle beside. With the trio able to rest their weary limbs and bodies, their mother went on to scope out the area, and make sure the place wasn't housing any unwanted company. So the siblings stayed put, Adara's raven perching upon the lower branches above the tree they resided with. He went on to preen his feathers, and Adara followed suit, plucking out a few loose ones that were itching a little, and adjusting some that had gotten askew from the more harsh, and focused wind. It was quite nice here, the layer of white creating a sort of muffling effect to the entire world, it seemed. Every ruffle, shuffle, and puff of air could be heard, along with the light scrapes of old branches finally taking the dive from their host trees.

Unfortunately, this also was an advantage to those that prowled for the weak, and easy targets for prey... And a lone, desperate wolf took advantage of that. With Allide searching the opposing side of where the canine lurked, he slowly made his advance, the stark white, sprinkled with silver coat allowing him to blend in rather smartly with his surroundings, he creeped closer upon the three foals. His eyes were wide, ears swiveled forward and alert, empty stomach driving him. They were alone, unprotected... this was his chance to finally quiet his hunger! And distracted as they were with one another, Adara aiding in assisting with grooming her siblings feathers as well, she was late in recognizing the unfamiliar, foreign scent that finally reached her from a stray breeze that went against the grain of its kin. This was paired with the sound of her raven giving a mighty caw of alarm, and his mighty wings giving a heavy beat as he took flight, the sound of him cutting through the air making Adara snap to attention and follow his path. Instantly she spotted the wolf, making her rise to her feet, and face towards the threat that encroached upon them. But her trusty partner was already confronting the danger head on, flapping around it, pecking, snapping, and digging his talons into the fur in sensitive areas.The ravenous animal gave yelps, growls, snarls, and unintelligible sounds of anger, head whipping around to try and get at the avian anyway possible. Adara was frozen in her place, taking a stance before her other siblings, wings flared out, standing her ground. She wasn't the type to do something foolish, and without thinking. Her chances at defeating such a beast was... little to none, at her current age, and form. But nor could her feathered friend defeat it... and yet there he was, relentlessly going at the wolf without mercy, tufts of fur ripped off of its body!

However, with a quick snap of those powerful jaws, they were able to catch a wing, sinking through and crushing the delicate bones within. Adara instantly winced as though she herself were experiencing the pain, her same wing reacting as though it too had been crunched down on. The raven shriekd its pain, but didn't let up on its determination. Being held so close to the wolf's face now, he was able to scratch and rake his claws into the dark, dilated eyes, tearing into them. Loud whines broke the scuffle and pierced the once quiet land like a blade, the maw unlocking to recoil and stumble backwards in agony and pain. The raven flopped helplessly, in an attempt to retreat, while the enemy continued to back away, pawing at its eyes. Adara then made her move, dashing in to gently scoop her trusted companion into her own mouth, and carry back to her siblings... the sound of even more powerful wings giving way above her. Mother had returned, and finished the job on the invading canine.

Gingerly, Adara nosed the injured wing open, to get a good look at the damage inflicted. It was pretty severe... And blood was everywhere. Feeling the pain of the bird flow through her, she carefully nosed some snow onto the wing to try and aid some way to dull the pain. He'd risked his own life to protect... It was so bold, and reckless... and yet he'd prevailed in the end. Was it because of mere luck? or was there something more at work, that she simply wasn't seeing? With plenty to ponder about, she decided leaving that for a more appropriate time would be a better course of action. Right now, her raven needed to be tended to.
"That was a rash decision you made. Your life could have easily been taken from you, as you did not stand a chance against something like that." she paused, voice keeping matter-of-fact, and honest, "You managed to provide distraction until mother returned to us, where in which we could have been the ones injured gravely, or worse." another pause, as though she were mulling, or calculating the events that transpired and what could have been.
"Thank you, my friend." she quietly muttered to the bird, nosing his cheek in a gesture of appreciation. Tucking her legs under herself, she requested her mother to help in placing the raven onto her back, once her wings had unfurled and opened completely. When she felt the light weight resting, her wings very slowly and precisely contracted back to folding, covering the raven in a protective cocoon. Rising back up, she heard the soft clicks from him, a sign of approval and reassurance. She would simply return the favor to him, and assist in his recovery. What is broken can be healed, after all. And she'd do what ever necessary to make sure his sacrifice was repaid in full.

Plot Ideas: { don't really form plots until rp happens. So some rough ideas:}
- A strong bond to be formed with someone possibly opposite of her own self, or just someone who isn't put off by her peculiar personality and nature.
- Being caught in a situation where she has to choose between the the practical thing to do, or the "right" thing to do. Probably with someone who she's maybe close to, or something of that ilk.
- I'd like if she could get a hit { as she will be following in her mothers claws as an assassin too. } where she actually feels some sort of conflict in whether or not she should carry it out or not. Just some sort of challenge to her underdeveloped emotions.
- In general I'd like for her to have a lot of encounters that can help with developing her emotions and ideals.
- Always up for family plots.

User Name:  hanging gallow
Name: Verena
Temper:  Charismatic
Do you own a pony with visible tri-wings? Do you own a member of the Lucifer line?: Yes and Yes
Are you an active RPer?:  Yes
Are you willing to continue the Raven Lord tradition?:  Very much so!
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Personality: 
Verena is an information gatherer, spy, and someone who easily cannot be trusted if you put her on your bad side. She knows everything about everyone, everything and uses this information to her advantage rather it be for blackmail, to gain insight over a deals with others, or merely sell it to the highest bidder looking for information about someone. At first meeting, she comes across as a bubbly mare, knowing the right words to say in any sort of situation with her silver-tongue, flirty, and having the natural habit of being the life of the party. There is no issue with her being the center of attention not shying away from attracting the hearts of everyone she meets and using this to maintain good relations to anyone with any sort of status in the soquili lands. If she meets someone she does not know she quickly buds up to them seeing if they are worth anything information wise or not. Knowledge is power to Verena and gathering it and maintaining is everything to the mare and she is not quick to betray another unless for the greater good of a situation and will spend days mulling over options until the best solution is achieved. Nothing is done out of haste from the mare, everything is calculated and strategic used to advantage making her rather useful as a tactician then fighter. Keeping this in mind, Verena first loyalty lies to her family and Raven Lords and will first and foremost do anything to keep them from harms way.

Prompt Number: 1
RP Prompt: 
The sun had already risen above the horizon, its rays dancing along the soft dunes of sand as the air felt dry as sun-bleached bones left too long uncovered. As the wind blew the sand would scattered around almost floating in the breeze as it dusted their coats and manes leaving Verena feeling itchy and annoyed with the entire trip that their mother had accepted. Two weeks there and the young filly was quite sure she hated everything about the desert, there had been not one redeeming quality about it and she questioned if she would ever return to such a place and if she did it would be too soon. Her mother had reassured her that only a few more days left and they would be out of there and into the mountain pass heading back to the more lushes green areas of the lands where water was almost available anywhere and shade was a comfort to relax in.

After an hour and a half of trudging through the shifting sands since their pitiful breakfast Verena’s ears perked up as the soft sounds of murmur started to emerge throughout the group, as soquili’s started to break off into groups the unfamiliar scent of new soquili started to fill her nose as well as a rather familiar smell she had longed for.

Water!

Noting her mother moving in a direction with the soquili whom had hired her Verena took over, her paws dancing over the sand until she reached the edged of the glimmering water. Not hesitating she plunged her muzzled in and guzzled greedily with happiness. After feeling satisfied the filly blew a few bubbles into the water before turning her attention to the others who had also stopped at the oasis paradise. Somewhere still asleep while others seemed to be gathering supplies for further travel into the desert, others almost looked as if they lived at the oasis all their life. Shaking her tail in excitement Verena began to trot around her ears perked, as she grew closer to other soquili, listening to every word they spoke.

“Did you hear? They said she ran off with that pink flutter that she met at a party!”

“OOOOOOOOOOO won’t her father be mad!”

“You won’t believe what he said about his mate!”

“Oh no you must be joking.”

Most of it was merely gossip, as mares quickly darted about chattering with the occasional glance to their foals that they were over watching or bustling through with some sort of materials needed for their travels. It was all really useless tho, unless Verena wanted to rat out a cheating stallion of a mare to another but there was really no point in the trivial matter. Instead the filly started to make her back to her mother hoping to catch some sort of chatter between the patron and another.

“Hush! Do you want everyone to hear?” A voice growled low next to the shrub near Verena’s left side.

“Well if you didn’t waste all you damn time last night I wouldn’t have to be here now right,” replied another voice gruff but younger in age.

Pausing Verena started to lean in closer towards the shrub, her body closer to the ground as her heart pounded in her chest. There was no fear in her body, but more so the exhilaration of learning something, something someone didn’t want to get out.

“Shut up, just take the damn thing will you. Just don’t go screwing this up, just send that bird of yours with the message that he is dead and you will get your gold’s worth.” The deeper tone spoke again; his voiced even more hushed then before.

“I will, just don’t you go backing out on your payment if you do, well you can guess what will happen to you too.” The younger voice replied before his hooves began to shuffle along the harden sand.

Quickly Verena got to her paws, a grin plastered along her muzzle as she did her best to merely look as if she had just arrived along the other side of the brushes a small melody began to hum from her as she punched up her step to make her appear as if she was in her own little filly world. The younger stallion glared as he turned his attention to her, the older stallion having a moment second of fear flash across his face before it turned into a deeper scrowl.

“Scram you!” He yelled at her as she picked up the pace and darted out of there without a second to lose. Her heart still pounding in her chest as a giggle tried to worm its way out of her throat. Verena’s mind was reeling with questions, such as who where they after, what sort of poison, what was there to gain, to lose? Was it revenge? So many questions she needed to answer and they would badger her until she did! However, it would have to wait the filly thought as she headed towards her mother as she let another grin spread across her face.

Plot Ideas:
Traveling Ears: As a foal Verena spends a lot of time traveling with her mother and her siblings from place to another. Being young it is easy for her not to be noticed by adults and easily dismissed as a fleeting thought letting her listen to stories, gossips, and thoughts of other adults that could be useful information. At one point she listens to gossip of valuable importance that she can use to her advantage for herself and attempts to blackmail said individual for something else. It could succeed or fail depending on the party members, however teaches Verena an important lesson on information.

A Partner in Crime: Verena meets the raven whom she will be working with the rest of her live, being bonded to a creature who doesn’t quite understand the importance of learning information and deciding what information is useful and what is merely gossip trash. The first information gathering Verena sends her partner out on ends up in a bumbled mess and putting Verena in a rather sticky situation between two parties looking for an agreement. Her partner realizes this and aids her in some way to get out unscathed while keeping relations with both parties. (This could take place as a foal or adolescent).

Still Young: Leaving her family and stepping out into the world Verena starts her first travels to meet the more prominent soquilis of the land hoping to gain some sort of trust and building a name for herself in information. Some will go well others will leave her in danger, or will be a blunder on her own accord in not knowing the right words or actions to do. I would like to achieve that one of the encounters ends up putting her in deep trouble and her having to lie her way out to escape with her life (maybe even having to be a prisoner for a short period of time before getting out).  (Multiple rps with others).

Where Loyalties Lie: Gaining some sort of status, Verena ends up in a situation where she must betray and expose one of her valued informants in order to protect the life of another. It is a hard decision for her to make (may take a srp) and her mulling over the best solution to her problem. The rp could go in her favor of her being able to maintain the relation and help out the other or could go completely south and her losing someone valuable for her.

Others: I would like to do other plots with her family members, rather it be finding out information that could help one or needing to find information for someone. Maybe she comes across something could deeply affect someone such as Anzu or so on. I would love to work out some ideas.

While it's still sparse, I am trying to amass information on the Raven Lords and their culture here.

While tri-wings are not a trait that can be customed EVERYONE is welcome to custom a Raven Lord. If you want something that looks like a Raven Lord but does not follow the culture then all I ask is that you don't attach it to the family.

Raven Lords can be descendants of the lost herd (and not significantly related to the current Raven Lords), OR descendants of any of my existing families. If you wish to custom into a family then please ask me directly. :3