[Fan] Errands of Mandor: Dragons Rising [ALWAYS ACCEPTING]

[Kalon Ordona II]

,: A new Errand hath been delivered! :,

The Errands of Mandor....
At any given moment, there are easily hundreds to be taken.
Some are endless, ongoing tasks.
Some are seasonal quests to faraway lands.
Some are missions to neighboring kingdoms.
Many are quests into the wilds.
Most are dangerous.
Few are so vital as to be worthy of a hero.
This one... is worthy of many.

On the morning of Summer's Eve, a mysterious figure appeared at the Castle of Mandor. Hooded and cloaked in dark robes, he (or she), caused no small stir. The figure seemed to melt from your mind if you stared for too long. It was difficult to see him (or her) clearly. This proved the figure's identity, for ever following such a character's appearance, the rulers of Mandor announced an Errand of great import. These special, heralded Errands came about less than once per year.

A great crowd gathered before the palace, waiting for the King to deliver his Errand. The King soon appeared on the balcony, and without ado, read with a loud voice from a roll of parchment.

The Dragons are Rising! O furious beast!
The Dragons are Rising, away in the east!
Thine Errand is givt, O hero, O knight!
Thine Errand is givt, by riding, by flight!
Away! What keeps thee, O glorious knight?
Away! Make ready to battle, to fight!
The Dragons are Rising! Rejoice or Bemoan?
The Dragons are Rising! Go forth! Get ye gone!

The crowd wondered in silence while the King outlined the details of the Errand. Far to the east, beyond the barely-charted wild borders of Mandor, there were rumors of dragons in great numbers. An investigation must immediately be made, but more than that. Allowances must needs be made for any discovery--including open hostility from an enemy unlike any that has come before. Any who wished to apply--not only the royal knights--may become an Errand-rider for this quest. Numbers were needed as much as experience, and diversity of skills as much as unwavering resolve.

Truly, this was an Errand unlike any other.

': Who will rise to the task at hand? :'

 

[Kalon Ordona II]

. : Customs of the Land : .

,: You are warriors of Mandor. :,

Click here to visit the Errands of Mandor Out of Character thread.

Errands of Mandor is set up similar to most Role-Playing Games. There will be chapters and battles. Villains will arise to challenge the heroes. And there will be an ending. How the story ends, is up to you.
Life has rules. The quest of the Errand is no different. The world has rules, and the kingdom of Mandor has laws. Read them well, and learn what they mean.

I. ~ No hero is a god. No mortal is the master of another's destiny.
II. ~ Only through diligence and wisdom can your quest be completed. Be learned, be active, and be mindful.
III. ~ Obey ye all the voice of Ordona the Scryer, for he is the Speaker for the Gods.
IV. ~ Noble, knight, or peasant, ye are warriors of Mandor. Let your loyalties never be shaken. Walk in the laws of the land, with all honor and justice. Remember why you fight. It will give you strength.

No god modding. Be active, be literate, be respectful of others. If there are any questions, comments, disputes, suggestions, or arrangements, send me, Kalon_Ordona_II, a message via PM. I'm your host, here to keep the story going smooth and keep us having fun. Always keep the setting in mind as we're role-playing, and help make sure we maintain continuity. This RP should be a game, an exercise, and a work of art. Revisit your character profile often; it's fun, and should help to keep our characters consistent. Again, enjoy the story, invest yourself in its advancement; and again, have fun!

': Honor the Gods, the King, and your Comrades. :'

 

[Kalon Ordona II]

. : An Imposing World : .

,: The World hath many lands, :,

It is not a small world. It is in no way easy to travel across. To fully understand, one must think of the mountains of any realm, and make them taller. We humanoid races scrap by in a world that is epically larger than we are. This is no reason to doubt or fear, however, for many methods have been found to aid in the crossing of Mandor. For an idea as to what type of world we are living in, look at these renderings by a skilled landscape artist, and one of a glimpse of our future foes.

~ Castle of Mandor ~
~ Mountains of the Kingdom ~
~ The Dragon of the Cliffs ~

As for the methods of transport, they are found in the beasts we have tamed, and in the shipwright's craft.

~ Gryphon ~ Land Stryder ~ Pegasus ~ Horse ~ Sea Vessel ~

For more information, visit the Errands of Mandor: Out of Character thread.

': but none to match the glory of Mandor. :'

 

[Kalon Ordona II]

. : Apply for Errand-rider : .

,: A good name is as gold. What is yours? :,

PM Applications to Kalon_Ordona_II, subject: Errands of Mandor.

[color=COLOR][b]Name:[/b] Name of the Hero[/color]
[color=COLOR][b]Age:[/b] Age of the Hero (Between 14 and 60. Knights must be at least 20. Older = more skill.)[/color]
[color=COLOR][b]Race:[/b] Race of the Hero (Human or Elf. No Half-breeds. Also specify gender.)[/color]
[color=COLOR][b]Appearance:[/b][/color] Appearance of the Hero
[color=COLOR][b]Character:[/b][/color] Personality of the Hero
[color=COLOR][b]Bio:[/b][/color] History of the Hero
[color=COLOR][b]Weapons and Magic:[/b][/color] Tools of the Hero (Limit three weapons unless two are two-handers. One magic spell. [Any requests or extensions, i.e. mage or healer, inquire via PM or in the OOC thread.]))
[color=COLOR][b]Uniqueness:[/b][/color] Uniqueness of the Hero (optional)

': What deeds have you done? :'

 

[Kalon Ordona II]

. : The Chosen of Destiny : .

,: The fates may surround us all, :,

Destiny favors whomsoever she will. Ordona the Scryer has sensed those in whom the energies of fate have congealed for the foreseeable future. It may be that not all will emerge as heroes. Nevertheless, great deeds will be seen of many.

Elenda the Strong, Dame Knight of Mandor

Kalon_Ordona_II

Name: Dame Elenda of Mandor
Age: 34
Race: female human
Appearance: Dame Elenda of Mandor
Character: noble, calculating but optimistic

Bio: Elenda was the daughter of Sir Carlo of Än--the same Än which owes its existence to the great Lord Roger and the fabled Blade of Än--and Dame Olwyn of Edria. Sir Carlo could trace his lineage back across four generations of knights to Lord Roger of Än himself. Dame Olwyn was similarly renowned, for she was the daughter of Sir Seregond the Stonehearted, who was an elf-friend. Indeed Dame Olwyn grew up under the watchful eye of her father's good friend, an elf known as Calanon, Lord of Ordona. This Lord Calanon was to play an integral part in Olwyn's training, and later would do the same for Olwyn's daughter, Elenda.

Sir Carlo and Dame Olwyn both became knights of Mandor, the greatest and noblest kingdom of the known lands. Knights came from all over to be part of that great country. There they became fast friends and eventually were wed. The Kingdom of Mandor continued to grow in size and prosperity and might and glory. This was laregely because of the famed Errands of Mandor, the stories of which were becoming legends in the minds of the people. The King was constantly sending his knights on quests of valor. Heroes, it seemed, were being forged every day. Bards carried fantastic tales throughout all lands; there was no shortage of great deeds.

It was during this time that Elenda was brought up and raised to become a knight of the realm. There was an axe in her hand from the time she was strong enough to lift one. Elenda had a strong spirit and loved more than anything the riding of beasts and the wielding of weapons. That is, most anything, for she loved her parents most of all. In fact this might have become a source of bitterness, for Sir Carlo and Dame Olwyn were both gone regularly, out upon Errands for the King. Elenda got on with friends, squires and guardsmen well enough, but she could not rely on them. (Indeed, most of them relied on her, for she had a kind heart and a helpful hand, and would stand by any of them when no one else would.) In the midst of her secret turmoil Calanon the elf was always there in place of her mother or father. On him she relied for strength of soul and development of mind, for he taught her things few were given to learn.

So the years passed and Elenda grew, and was stronger than many a man of the castle. And she became fair and beautiful, so that it was said the beauty of her face matched the beauty of her soul. But no man yet had won her heart. In time she was knighted, and she also took part in the Errands of Mandor. This brought her a fuller joy, for oft she would go out together with her parents, Sir Carlo and Dame Olwyn, and she was called Dame Elenda of Mandor, and folk remembered her name as it was read from the lists in far-off places. Thus did more years pass, and these were the dearest and best so far of Elenda's life.

Eventually Sir Carlo and Dame Olwyn began to feel their age, for they were both over sixty when Elenda turned thirty. They began to take Errands of less difficulty and less frequently, whereas Elenda, being young and full of life, sought danger and opportunities to test her skill. Much renown she had earned, and many began to call her Dame Elenda the Strong, for her halberd was famed and feared. The King recognized her as one of his nine greatest knights, and often gave her command of units or Errands of great importance and need. All this was joy to her. But, with her parents fading from her life, Elenda's heart began to feel alone.

Weapons and Magic: Elenda's Primary weapon is the halberd or pole-axe. She is a master at axes and especially pole weapons.
Her secondary weapon is the spear. Elenda has no weapon crafted specifically for her. She instead uses different types of her weapons of choice, the better to keep on edge and be ready able to use any weapon as need demands.
Lord Calanon gave Elenda a special gift after she was knighted. It was a necklace, a gold chain attached to the points of a small crescent. The crescent was also made of gold, and it was set with a smooth round jewel. Stragely enough, the jewel itself seemed to be made of gold--or, at least, it was gold in color--but it was transparent, and it caught the light somehow without facets. Calanon had instructed her that, to use it, she must press her lips against the crescent and breathe warmly upon the jewel until it glowed. She must then touch the jewel to a thing, and the glow would transfer its light and its power momentarily, where it must be use quick, lest the glow die out. Elenda had found many uses for the enchanted pendant. Her most famous was what she had named the Arc of Light. When she transfered the golden glow to a weapon and then swiped the edge through the air, a curving arc of bright golden light would fly straight through the air for a great distance before it spread out into nothing. She had seen it cut through stone. Unfortunately, though--and Calanon had warned her about this--the spell would work only one time each day, so she must use it only at great need. Calanon had also warned her to guard the pendant closely, for others might use this thing as well, and it was only a fool who would let power fall into unrighteous hands.

Uniqueness:
Elenda has never been with a man. Though many are attracted to her on multiple levels, none have had the courage to court her affections.

Zuuta Leone, Dame Knight of Mandor

nikomas

Name: Zuuta Leone
Age: 26
Race: female human
Appearance: Zuuta stands at five-foot-nine, taller than average height. She has reddish-brown eyes, not unlike the color of blood, and a head of long shaggy blonde hair which she usually pulls back. Her attire is quite eccentric, consisting of seemingly random pieces of armor, a stiff colored hide with matching sleeve, a deep red sarong and cape made from the same cloth, and thigh-high white heeled boots.
Character: Much like the animals she trains, Zuuta is defiant and headstrong; very untrusting of others whether she knows them well or not. Despite her general unfriendliness, her respect and comraderie towards others tends to keep her on people's good sides. She may not like you, but she'll respect you.
Bio: Zuuta's family is well-known for their talent and skill in catching and training animals, as well as animal husbandry. With no brothers to take over the family business, she was taught the ins and outs of the animal training profession. Many a troupe of traveling performers and stable owners have requested her family's assisstance with their more troublesome creatures. Overall, her life was fairly comfortable, though her parents feared that she may never settle down because she'd rather roughhouse and play with the dogs than talk casually with a man. About four years ago or so, during a celebration in the capital city, she saved one of the lords from being mauled by his exotic but hard-to-control pet. Her heroic actions and vast knowledge of animals caught the eye of the King, so he offered her the chance to become one of his Knights. Tired of the usual routine, she accepted, and has been working for the King ever since.
Weapons and Magic:
- Right-handed clawed metal gauntlet
- Blacksnake whip
- Bullwhip
Uniqueness: Her fight-or-flight survival instincts appear to be more acute than most other humans. She swears that, a long time ago, she once saw a stubborn and flighty horse-like creature that was black and white striped; inspiring the designs found on a few of her clothes. She is usually seen with her favorite hunting dog from her family's ranch, a large wolfhound named Haber.

Halo the Elf, Lord Knight of Mandor

Lise Illumincroix

Name: Halo (real name is actually Kara)
Age: Appears to be 16
Race: elf

Appearance: Reference pic! Halo/Kara is on the left. The jacket/tunic should only down to the knees. I messed up. The real Halo is on the right. Halo appears to be a male. He is about five feet and four inches tall. His eyes are violet, and his hair is blonde. His forehead is covered by his hair much like bangs would. His hair goes down to his neck and is loose yet tidy. Halo’s figure is skinny, but wears loose clothes to hide his figure. He wears a long white tunic. On top of the tunic is a chest plate, and on top of that is a vest. Halo has brown boots that extend up to just below his knees.
Character: Halo attempts to act well mannered and speak nobly without throwing curses or badly phrased insults. He tries to be polite, but is not always successful. When he fails, he can be whiny. He also tries to be serious, but playfulness tends to fall in. He might also seem a little naïve.
Bio: This particular Halo is actually a girl named Kara. She knocked out her older brother, the real Halo, who was supposed to go and is probably much more qualified to go. And then she disguised herself as him by cutting her hair and dying it. Kara’s ordinarily bluish hair is blonde thanks to another’s magic. However, she never changed her eyes to the true Halo’s green. She tries to imitate Halo’s personality, but he is just too erratically different from her. He is polite with anyone and anything and rarely gets angry. The real Halo is also quite serious and very dutiful. He has an air of nobility around him. …Kara doesn’t.

Kara and Halo come from a family with 10 children. However, the second eldest met an unfortunate accident and died, leaving the other nine. The eldest of the children is raising the rest of them now as the parents have died. Kara is the second to youngest while Halo is the third youngest(yet one of the most skilled).

During Kara’s childhood, she was the typical village brat (unlike her brother), shirking her duties and trying to play around with everything. She is still somewhat like that now, but has gained a sense of duty and responsibility. However, she did study along her brother, but learned slower than he did. If there is anything she is more skilled at than him, it is running away or more importantly, healing creativity and using magic in unconventional ways.

Halo became a Holy Knight, a very good one, but Kara could not follow the same route. She went the healing support route with a tomboyish attitude, laughing at the idea that she could be a martial arts monk… except strength was not exactly her forte.
Weapons and Magic:
Weapons: Two twin sais, except the sais are la bit longer than the typical ones. They are meant to be used together.
Magic: Healing body tissue/aka closing wounds and purging poisons. Purging poisons will take longer. However, note that Halo would know the conventional medic procedures as well.
Halo is also able to put up a light shield
Uniqueness: Halo is awesome at making faces and will do them behind people’s backs quite often and is a sucker for sweets. The real Halo, of course, would not do that and does not have an obsession with sweets. The fake Halo also always wears a necklace while the real Halo always has a green gem by his neck. In any case, because of clothes and armor, the gem and necklaces are usually hidden.

Cain Aransadorien, Baron of Azurea

kuno00

Name: Baron Cain of Azurea (Elves call him "Aransadorien," meaning "faithful to the King.")
Age: 37
Race: male human
Appearance: Appearance Cain is a tall male with long brown hair and deep green eyes, he's tall and walks with pride. His most remarkable feature is an X-shaped scar that stretches across his whole back.
Character: generous, goodhearted, honest, loyal, fair, strong-willed
Bio: Cain was born the son of farmer Johan and his wife Vivian on the outskirts of Azurea, a small duchy on the outskirts of Mandor. Azurea is a very close to nature area and half of it is covered by forest and more than half of the population is of elvish decent. Johanns' farm was close to the forest so the family was always struggling to survive because they couldn't expand their farmland, elves and humans had respected each other for decades in Azurea, even before it belonged to Mandor.

One day, when Cain was 12, he met a group of elves that was venturing through the lands while he was stuck on the farm helping his father, and he ran away. He never came to regret that choice because without it he couldn't do all the good he commits to today. The group consisted of two elf girls, three elf boys and Cain, so he was the outcast. But the elves were all older than him and he learned many things. Feredir was the leader of the group. He was a strong elf who was admired by the others; he was an expert with the sword, and he taught Cain almost everything he knew. Cain ventured through all of Mandor with them, being chased away here and there, for elves were unusual and welcomed in other places.

Throughout his journey Cain learned a lot about the history of Mandor and about the people, and he enjoyed it immensely. Eventually Feredir proposed to participate in one of the famous Errands, and all six of them were totally convinced that this was the right thing to do.
To be able to participate, they were forced to join up with a knight called Ghalendir. She wasn't famous, but she was dependable, and nobody wanted to be responsible for sending six kids on an Errand and perhaps never returning. Ghalendir was a sword-wielder like Cain and Feredir, and she taught both of them more and more. But it didn't help.

They had ventured together with Ghalendir for 5 years. Cain was 19 now, and nobody knew how old the elves were. An Errand had led them back to Azurea, and Cain was scared. He would meet his family again. He would see his home. He would see the forest, which he had loved so much as a child, but his parents hated it more than the devil.
Azure had fallen into the hands of a vicious duke, a man who knew how to disguise his reign of terror very well from the King. Valcor ruled with an iron fist. He had been member of a secret guild of thieves and assassins for years without anybody knowing, and he displayed a noble and righteous facade to the King. It was now Cain's task to get rid of him, to kill the duke of Azurea, of his homeland.

Ghalendir had been granted command of a small unit for this Errand, and they tried their best, but they were outnumbered and out-skilled. The request for backup was sent too late, and the backup itself arrived even later.
Cain and Marie--one of the elf girls from their original group--were the only ones who survived a trap set up by Valcor, and they were able to hide quickly. Marie cried for three days straight, and Cain's back had been ripped open by one of the mechanic traps, but he spent all his energy on making both of them survive. They were found a couple of days after the cleansing by a royal commander who was intrigued by some of the fauna in the area. It turned out the King had to take Azurea back by force and the backup had been a vast army. Valcor was dead, and so were his assassins and soldiers and many, too many, innocent civilians who had the tough luck of showing up in the wrong places at the wrong time--including Cain's parents.
But there was a light in that dark hour: Marie had survived, and apparently so had Feredir. Feredir was in a lazaret tent being treated; he was barely conscious. Feredir struggled for days, Marie at his bedside crying again. Cain would never forget his last words. 'Take it and protect her...' he'd said with his last breath, pushing his sword and its sheath into Cains hands. Cain didn't talk for days. How could this have happened to his home country? Was it his fault? Could he have stopped it? Everybody he'd known his whole life was dead, including a knight who was supposed to babysit them, who'd taught them so much, as well as his best friend who was a mentor and a brother at the same time.

It was a winter morning when Cain walked up to Commander Norman, a famed man at the time who had taken it upon himself to rule over Azurea for the time being, until the King had chosen a new duke who had to appoint new barons. 'Can you teach me?' Cain had asked. It was his only hope. 'This nightmare shall never repeat itself' he had proclaimed to the commander utter tears. 'I want to help, somehow!' he had yelled. Commander Norman couldn't help but smirk, he admitted it was late, but he sent Cain off to the royal officer school with a special recommendation of Commander Norman, General of the first Royal Brigade. And so Cain left his home country again, together with Marie. She couldn't bear being apart from her family. 'You're the only one I have left; let me join you.' And Cain also had a promise to keep, and so they went to the academy, enrolling a completely new life. It was a life of mental labour, a life of humiliation, a life of pity, but it was a life that followed a clear path. Cain knew what he wanted: to make sure nobody would ever have to feel the pain he did.

A whole ten years passed. When Cain turned 30 he decided it was time. He had refined his skills as a commander, as a leader, as a politician, and as a swordsman in these ten years. He felt more healthy than ever before; he even felt younger than when he was picked up by commander Norman ten years ago. This was his time. Together with Marie, who had become an expert with the bow, he offered his service to the King in several Errands. The King was convinced by his skill and offered him the rights of a Knight of Mandor, but Cain denied the offer. 'I have a different path to follow,' he explained to the King in a private audience. 'My Lord, I beg you to forgive me my rude words, but I need to help where help is needed. I need to spread hope where hope's been absent for so long. You command a vast army of brave soldiers--I know so by experience. You won't miss my sword.' Eventually the King agreed to let Cain follow his path.

The mature Cain returned to Azurea, to the forests of Azurea, and assisted the local elves where he could. Valcor had left his mark on the forests. The new duke was trying, but couldn't help. The elves appreciated his effort and Cain explained again and again that he was doing this for his King, for the man he technically owe his life to, maybe the only fair ruler in all of Mandor. Eventually they began calling him Aransadorien, faithful to the King. The duke, Duke Henry of Hillsworth, still had a barony to spare, and the elves all united to nominate Cain to fill the position. With their tales of his effort, how Cain had succeeded supporting where Henry had failed, he gladly appointed Cain to the Baron of the last part of the county. Fortunately for Cain it was an easy-to-handle barony; there was only one larger city and forest, a wide forest and Cain had secured the trust of the local elves, of course with Marie at his side.
Cain thought he'd reached his goal. He was an influential baron in Azurea, due to the amount of elves in the country. But he couldn't have been more wrong. Outside of the elf loving and trusting community, a rumor spread about the 31-year-old Baron, that he was supposedly plotting against the King, that he wanted to take over Mandor with an army of elves. Most people laughed about it, but some took it more serious. Some took it too serious. It's amazing how much damage a few gossip believes with too much money aside can do:

Cain woke up at a noise he hadn't heard the last nights. He was still getting used to his new home, a mansion in the center of Arley, the prosperous city in his barony. He gazed into the dark. Had something moved there? Was there someone in this room?
It was only a shimmer of light, but Cain was immediately on alert; there was someone in here. He sat up and shook Marie by the shoulder. She had joined him in bed more of often recently. Cain had always loved her but not like this, not this intens-
Something was wrong.
"Marie!" he whispered, in the corner of his eyes he could see the shadow hush outside through the window; he thought he could see a smirk on the man's face. "Dammit Marie we've been robbed!" he turned to her and his heart stopped.
His hand was in a puddle of blood that was slowly but surely spreading across Marie's chest. "MARIE!" he yelled, got up and tried to stop the bleeding with the covers. "Help, HEEEELP!"

Deep inside the forest there was a group of elves, and a man. A tall man dressed in a shining armour with an elvish blade at his hip. The elves were singing a song the man didn't know, but it was sad and he cried. 'She came from the forest into my life, now she left my life and I return her to the forest.'

Cain was thankful for his allies amongst the elves, who spread the word: Baron Cain of Azurea is Aransadorien, he's faithful to the King!
In another audience with the King, Cain had to explain himself; he had to explain what happened and why it happened. The royals were looking down at the man who knelt in front of them. His face was covered by his hair but they could hear him cry as he told the King and his Queen what had happened in that fateful night, and once again he swore his allegiance. The King offered to relieve him of all his duties if he wanted to, but Cain straightened up and looked at the King: "NO! If you do that, they will have won!" he explained, looking the King deep in the eye. "I shall show my allegiance to you again and again. All the world shall know that I live to assure your your law is held in all of Mandor, and in all of Azurea, by humans and elves alike. I will do anything my King asks of me, but don't take away everything I worked for. I already lost everything on my way; I cannot lose my goal, too."
The King smiled and nodded. "Very well, you shall have whatever you need."

Cain returned again to Azurea, the country he'd sacrificed everything for but his life. As he crossed the border in flight, on a gryphon named Vaux which the King had entrusted him, he muttered to himself. "Home... you've taken everything I have. It's time to give something back."
And indeed, in the next few years Arley grew more prosperous, nearly matching the prosperity of the Azurean capital, Azurea, where the Duke resides.

Weapons and Magic: Cain is a passionate sword-fighter, his most prized possession is a sword given to him by the Duke of Azurea as a gift when he was instated as Baron Two Handed Sword he rarely ever uses it but relies on the sword he inherited from his combat teacher when he died Elf Blade. Cain also knows how to wield bows and spears but rarely ever uses them.
Uniqueness: Cain can speak a few elvish tongues fluently as he traveled eight years with an elvish family.

Sariel the Elf

AlwynRowanwind

Name: Sariel Shadows
Age: 20
Race: female elf
Appearance: Sariel Shadows
Character: She is a quiet person with quick eyes and quick hands. She is quick to defend herself when needed and just as quick to make your gold bag a bit lighter if she doesn't like you or if she is in desperate need of the money. But she can be your best friend if you can win her loyalty, or if you are in need. She is the first to go without so that another can have because she knows what it is like to have nothing.
Bio: Her parents died when she was a young child and her circumstances found her wandering the streets cold and hungry. She was taken in by a well learned thief who taught her everything she knows from protecting herself to getting food in her belly. He always said that no one would ever be able to deny those big eyes she could make. She grew up around other rogues and learned her trade on the streets where sometimes survival was hard but she managed. When she got older she left the only home she had ever known to find adventure and to make her place in the world, not daring to look back at the place she had left.
Weapons and Magic: Shurikens, a boot dagger (for emergencies), and a Rapier.

River the Minstrel

Scythe de Zaran

Name: River Alvanian Darwin
Age: Appears to be 17, but is truly older than that. He doesn’t even know, and not many people seem to know either.
Race: male elf, but looks like a human.
Appearance: River is no doubt a handsome man and a young looking one. It certainly helps with his trade. If one were to know that River is an elf, it would be surprising to see that his ears are not pointed at all. River stands at a height of six feet and has medium build. His ebony hair is elegantly tied in a low ponytail that reaches down to his back while his golden eyes twinkle with merriness. He dresses in comfortable brown ankle high boots and a long green tunic belted at his hip. He wears brown pants and has a brown cape. He also has a hat that resembles a hat of the Musketeers.
Character: Fun loving, nonviolent, joking, risk taking.
Bio: River is a bard from another land. Why possibly could a bard do on an errand? Surely, he could very well be a liability and only be of use in creating lavish songs and stories of the events during the errand. That is, unless dragons happen to be hypnotized by song. The truth of the matter is that River was never always simply a bard. However, he doesn’t remember.

The quiet Dais Balderon was born in a quaint town in land far away from Mandor. As the b*****d son of a high ranking noble, his birth could not be publically known. From a young age, he was secretly trained to be an elite assassin. The lad was a natural and quickly went up the ranks. He became an instructor of sorts himself. However, Dais was not one to simply listen and mindlessly follow orders. Unfortunately or fortunately, he overheard a plan to assassinate someone who he thought was fairly noble. Taking the risk, he thwarted the assassins on the mission and informed the target. Naturally, the target didn’t believe him. Well known in the assassin’s world, Dais suddenly found himself on the run. For a few years, he averted the others. However, eventually, they caught up to him.

To his dismay, one of the assassins that had caught up to him was none other than one of his students. They fought, but the student was not alone. “I am sorry, Master,” the student said sadly before the world became black. At the same time, Dais had smiled. You shouldn’t be showing regret or emotion, boy. After that, Dais drifted in and out of reality, feeling as if he tumbling downward on a very rough surface or even on no surface.

When he became fully conscious, the elf woke up in a warm bed on a moving caravan. The caravan was a human one, where the members never stayed in one place for too long because they liked traveling and visiting new places as well as performing for new audiences. Because Dais looked like a human due to his rounder ears and because he had been severely wounded, they had taken him in.

A lady had found him at the bottom of a gorge in a river that the caravan had stopped at to gather water and rest. Dais had no recollection of who he was or even what he was, and the only possibly unique item he had on his person was an eyepatch. So, everyone assumed and thought he was human. They named him “River” simply because they had found him lying in one.

Living and traveling with the caravan couple with the complete loss of self and memory led River to develop into the long haired bard he is at the time of the errand. River learned the tricks of the trade from the caravan and left the caravan to experience the errand, one of the events that had the most potential to be an epic story that bards could tell forever.

Even though the body usually does not forget instinct and reflexes, River had forgotten how to fight as well when he awakened in the caravan. However, he did maintain his accuracy and speed to some extent…. But he just can’t fight, and he doesn’t like it. He is nimble with his fingers, but that could also be attributed to training in musical instruments with the caravan. Perhaps, slowly, he will regain his fighting instincts if something triggers.

Weapons and Magic: His lute. A knife. He has to carry some sort of weapon with him, even if he can’t use it very well. The man’s magic, if it can be called magic is singing. Sometimes, if he sings in a certain way, he can calm down anything.

Back then as an assassin: Sword, darts, earth magic: A spell that enables Dais to manipulate nature. For example, he can trap designated foes as they are grabbed by the ground or whatever plant life is there or use it to conveniently move some branches to hide himself naturally.
Uniqueness: He isn’t as useless as he sounds, assuming if he ever regains his memory. If he regains his memory and he reverts back to his previous personality, prepare to be met with a 180 degree change. The assassin Dais used an eyepatch to give himself a disadvantage on missions and make them more challenging.

Zaría the Mage

Mosmoto

Name: Zaria (zar REE uh) Ramsden
Age: 42
Race: female elf
Appearance: [x]
Character: Wise, honorable, blunt, bitter
Bio: Zaria was born among her fellow elves, in the capital of one vast elven forest nations. She can not recall where it was, or what it’s name was, but she remembers spending her childhood there. She loved it there, and to this day wishes she could go back. She always considered it her one true home, which is why she had a huge fallout with her parents when they move she and four siblings (two of whom were girls, and two of whom were boys) to a much smaller nearby town. That was the beginning of her parents near constant traveling.

Her family would never stay more than six months in any one place. This made Zaria extremely unhappy, so she began to rebel, and do anything she could to get under their skin. When the children began to get older, the men left to find there own way in the world, while the women were married off, if they happened to catch the eye of one of the residents at whatever town or city they were staying at. By the time her family had made it all the way to Mandor, only Zaria was left.

It was there that she caught the eye of a duke. He was an older man, and had been married three times before, each of his wives having predeceased him. Zaria’s parent believed that fortune had smiled upon them, and made haste to rid themselves of her. Having no other choice, she was married to the duke in private.

It was a loveless marriage, but Zaria at least had money as a comfort. She took to importing anything and everything that was elven, trying to surround herself familiar things from her childhood, and to locking herself away in her chambers to practice magic. Meanwhile, her husband would shower her with gifts, but she saw them more as incentives to continue to bend to his will. It was only a matter of years after their marriage that the duke died of old age. She was hardly distressed about it; she was more distraught about having to find a new house than his death.

Having inherited his fortune, she had no problem getting a house just as nice as her previous estate. Since his death, which was a little over six years ago she has become slightly more social, no longer having to deal with the shame of an interracial marriage, and has changed her image from the wife of a nobleman to that of fairly accomplished mage.
Weapons and Magic: Being more or less a mage, Zaria’s focus is on magic rather than weapons. Over the years she has mastered the art of manipulating mana. Manipulating mana is much like manipulating an element. Depending on the concentration, it can explode or burn upon contact, though it is more like potent acid rather than fire. Therefore, it cannot create fire, unless in contact with a highly flammable material, such as oil. It can be used as a shield for arrows, which are thin enough to be easily disintegrated, and it also can have the same effect as a blade (depending on the shape), though it really is just eating the flesh rather than cutting it. It provides no heat, but it does have a faint glow to it, and naturally changes color depending on Zaria’s mood. This can be controlled, but she rarely bothers to.

The downside is that using her own mana regularly is extremely draining. This is where her bronze cane is very valuable. The large green gem that serves as a handle has properties that allow it to retain mana. Ever since she has gotten it, Zaria has been putting mana into it, as long as nothing that required her strength was going on. The supply is certainly not infinite, but provided she takes proper care of it, it does just fine. But in the case that she is at a need for mana, she can remove mana that lingers in corpses.

The cane she carries with her is one of the many things she's gotten from the elven forests. It was crafted to be light, but very durable, and stained bronze. Not only can it be used as a blunt weapon, but there is a hidden blade that emerges from the bottom end if a certain part of the cane is twisted.
Uniqueness: Beside her unique brand of magic, she’s fluent in many dialects of elvish, and in a few other languages due to traveling constantly.

Seodred the Master Stryde-handler

RyonaNoel

Name: Seodred Belaquin
Age: 27
Race: male human
Appearance: Seodred

Character:Seodred buries his feelings behind a cheery mood. He is a dedicated individual who knows a little bit of many things, but is only a master of few things. Though he has met many people, his travels are only very recent, and his prolonged isolation gives him a naïve view of the world.

Bio: Seodred was raised in a small village located in the rocky crags of Glyuah Mountains in the northern part of Mandor. The village was one of many spread sparsely through the mountains. Most of these small villages specialize in training land stryders, mostly for personal use but sometimes sold to foreign peoples. Training a personal land stryder not only demands strength and finesse, it is rite of passage that starts at age 14, when a young adolescent is first given a young stryder. This rite of passage ends with the completion of a test, usually taken between the ages of 16 and 18. The test involves a long period of travel, sequenced battles and perfect execution of commands. Seodred was given a black colored alpha female stryder, Enynwa, and didn’t completely earn his mastery until well into his 18th year.

It was then that Seodred became a travel guide, helping travelers through the local pass which leads the northern inhabitants of Edria to Mandor. During the next seven years Seodred honed his skills as a swordsman, as well as picking up bits of knowledge from the wide variety of people he spent months with guiding through the Glyuahn pass. When Seodred was 25 he met a young woman, Ana, who he was charged to lead through the pass. They quickly fell in love, and became involved in an intimate relationship, though Ana never told Seodred where it was she was going. It was unfortunate that a mere three months after they met, she succumbed to sickness and died in the cold harshness of the upper mountains. In despair and desperation, Seodred left his post at the mountain pass, set out to find where Ana had came from, and more importantly, where she was going, for it was obvious she had unfinished business. He has been searching for this information for two years now. At first his travels led him north, where he found her home village in Edria. He came upon whispers of a name, Calanon, and was urged to find this mysterious person. His search has led him to the great Castle, which upon gaining audience with the King and Queen, Seodred plans to find the whereabouts of Calanon and discover once and for all Ana’s purpose.

Weapons and Magic: Seodred’s main weapon is a standard two handed sword with leather gripping. He also has one small throwing axe which doubles as a hatchet, as well as a hunting knife he keeps in his boot. He has no magical artifacts.
Uniqueness: Seodred is quite a people person, and picks up on new ideas very easily.

Shane the Master Smith

Lord Malaroth

Name: Shane Wolfken
Age: 25
Race: Male Human
Appearance: Shane stands at about 5'11" and weighs about 210 lbs. He wears his jet-black hair long, with a mustache and small beard. His clothing consists of leather and plate boots, slate-blue cloak with hood, leather bottom and belt, and a lion's head clasp that keeps his cloak together.
Character: Shane is usually laid-back, but has an intense focus. He is the protector, always the one to take a blow for his friends and family. As such, he is exceptionally tough and strong. Shane is especially fond of his Gryphon mount, Kaires.
Bio: Shane was born as a somewhat better off commoner in the land of Edria. He is the son of Garreth and Liriana Wolfken. Garreth was his town's blacksmith, and passed the secrets of the trade onto Shane, who is now the blacksmith of his town in Mandor. Liriana was frail by Edrian standards, because of she was a healer, not a fighter. She was competent in her healing abilities until the Arrein Bandits raided their village, where Liriana suffered a grievous wound. She lived, but her healing center was the target, and she would never be able to heal as well as she once did. Because of her nature, the healing power passed down to Shane, forming an unusual combination of toughness and tenderness. After he left his village in Edria, Shane traveled all over the land, and became the owner of a gryphon, who took to Shane immediately. After four years of traveling, Shane moved to Mandor, in a hope to possibly become the royal blacksmith. He demonstrated his abilities to the King, who seemed satisfied with Shane's work, and offered him a place in the royal smithy. A year later, on his twenty-fifth birthday, Shane heard about the Errand of Dragons Rising. Adventure bubbling through his veins like the forge he keeps, Shane requested a leave to assist in the errand. Needless to say, his leave was granted, and now moves forward with the others that have been accepted into the Errand.
Weapons and Magic: Shane's primary weapon is a Broadsword, or a longsword with a slightly wider blade, which can be held with one or two hands, though Shane prefers the latter stance. His secondary weapons are twin longswords that he keeps when he needs speed over power. Because of his mother, he can use a somewhat powerful healing spell. For range, Shane carries a crossbow and a satchel full of crossbow bolts.
Uniqueness: Shane is unique in that he possesses the toughness of a blacksmith, along with the tenderness of a healer. The main feat to this is that he holds these characteristics equally and doesn't focus on one or the other.

Aubree Ayberk the Gryphon Rider

Electric Kool-Aid

Name: Aubree Ayberk
Age: 24
Race: female human
Appearance: Aubree is of average height reaching about 5'5" with a solid, athletic build. Her just-over shoulder length hair falls heavily in brown dreadlocks, which she occasionally ties back as needed. Her overall features are unremarkable but for a certain fierceness that characterizes her expression the majority of the time. Her eyes are a soft brown but nothing special. Her job dictates certain practical clothing choices which lead her to usually wear: close-fitting breeches, calf-height sturdy boots, and a tunic top with split side seams to her hip. She generally makes no effort toward adornment but does like to wear the occasional feather in her dreads.
Character: pragmatic, realistic, somewhat impatient
Bio: Aubree grew up in Mandor with a loving family. She was an only child and unfortunately not the son her father had hoped for. Nevertheless he appreciated her and saw her potential worth at a young age when he noticed she had a special affinity for birds, especially those of the sharp-beaked and talon-ed variety. Aubree was especially gifted at healing injured birds and by the age of 10, local falconers were bringing their wards to her for assistance. At 17 her father arranged an apprenticeship for her in the aviary working with gryphons, and she soon became adept at their training as well as health concerns. Since her apprenticeship, her skills have improved greatly and she is one of the premier handlers in the realm.
Weapons and Magic: Aubree's weapon of choice is her crossbow-short, sharp, and to the point. Not really a weapon but available in case of extreme need, Aubree always carries a small all-purpose knife in the top of her boot. She is not at all trained in the use of knives as weapons and sees hers much more as a tool for everything from peeling apples to opening letters to cutting free a gryphon tangled in an improper harness.
Uniqueness: Aubree is open-minded but skeptical and generally prepared for anything. Despite her impatience and eye on the job, she has a special fondness for music, which to some seems slightly contradictory.

Isto Arisa the Assassin

MarielleMoon

Name: Isto Arisa
Age: 30
Race: female human
Appearance: Isto Arisa stands about 5’8” with hazel eyes and dark brown hair that falls to her shoulders when not under a hood.
Character: calm, cold, knowledgeable, uncaring at times, but has good intentions.

Bio: Isto has no knowledge of her true origins; as far as she knows, she has been with the secretive Ebon Blade since birth. Since there were no parents in this hard life of constant training, only mentors, she has had no reason to wonder where she came from. And by the time she completed her training, she had no more reason to care. Mental education and physical conditioning have given her an all-consuming purpose and the skills to accomplish its goals.
The Ebon Blade is a small organization on the north-west borders of Än. Hidden in a fortified complex nestled in the cliffs, the Ebon Blade is a group of assassins who have taken it upon themselves to fight the evil that lurks in the deepest shadows--the shadows which light is afraid to enter.
This life is the only one Isto has ever known. Determined to be the best, she was an accomplished assassin by age 18 and granted the title of Master by 25. With hundreds of successful missions under her belt, she is now the personal right hand of the mysterious leader of the Ebon Blade himself.
Isto's current mission--one of highest significance--has proven to be the most difficult in her career. She has been 'away' on 'assignment' for quite some time.

Weapons and Magic: A small blade made of the metal ebon is hidden in a device on the left forearm bracer. A double-edged rapier is belted on her left side, and she has twenty 3" ebon throwing knives stashed in several small pouches.

Uniqueness: Isto prays nightly to Nocturna, the Ebon Blade's goddess of night. It his her philosophies by which the Ebon Blade order their lives, and Isto is a devout follower of her creeds. Nocturna speaks of night, judgment and redemption, that there are some places where light cannot reach, and it is up to the followers of Nocturna to distinguish between the shadows and root out the evil within.

': but the battle is ours to fight. :'

 

[Kalon Ordona II]

. : Errand Chronicles : .

,: For every Errand, a Story. :,

--Chapter 1: The Delivery and Summons---
Elenda the Strong, Dame Knight of Mandor, assembles all those willing to take the Errand of Dragons Rising. They meet at the gate of the Castle of Mandor, where precisely at sunset they will depart upon the quest.

--Chapter 2: The Errand of Dragons Rising---
The Errand-riders make their way down the Castle mountain and arrive at Mandor Castle Town, to uproarious greeting by the folk there. That night amid celebration the riders take rest, and set out late the following morning.

Chapter 3: The Ascent to Fort Altross

': For every Hero, a Song. :'

 

[Kalon Ordona II]

The Delivery and Summons

The mysterious dark figure has come and gone, and the King has announced a new Errand of high priority. Rarely are unknighted warriors allowed to apply, but this Errand requires great numbers and as diverse a group of skills as possible.

Who will answer the King's call?
Many have already. Already the bards are singing. Heroes, they say, will be forged on this journey.

If only they knew...
How true those words would be....

High in a Castle tower, an orb of light is glowing.
Destiny will smile upon those who are awakened to its call.
So says Ordona the Scryer, Speaker for the Gods.

(( be Active, be Literate, be Mindful of the players and the setting,
and you will be rewarded with Extra Privileges. good luck, and have fun!! ))