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I'll answer in blue c:

Questions of mine: (I read the whole front page and all the threads in the additional information forum first)

Most important/relevant to my current situation/character:
- (As stated at the top of the first post,) do humans have to have last names? No they don't! Their names do have to be unique, though.
- (As stated at the top of the first post,) do potential future summoners need to have an [N] label like the Profile Approvals thread said, even if they're considered/known to be a whyst before they summon a hound? Your question actually made me reconsider this, and was a good one! I decided to give these a separate label [NS] for future summoners who do not yet have a hound. They can still be known as a Whyst ICCly, though, until they're actually bonded. Many Aelf are (or are completely unaware of their ability!)
- Is Vermithirod an okay name for a human? Yep!
- Is Rue an okay name for a Hound? If not, how about Hreowan? (Though I'd really like to keep Rue as her original name if possible.) Rue is fine c:
- Is Ginyami an okay name for a Familiar? Yep!

Less important/relevant:
- What are glemmings? I saw them mentioned a couple of times, but I have no idea what they are. I thought it would be good to have an 'other' name for non magic users but then I changed my mind because it seemed confusing. These were 'normal humans'. Now they're just 'normal humans' again instead of glemmings. Basically someone might call a whyst a 'whyst' (or even a witch or weird voodoo person haha) and most would refer to a summoner as a 'summoner' but a few might use the term 'Aelf' or 'Aelfir' if they're familiar with it.
- How many human/hound/familiar characters can we have/roleplay? As many as you can handle! c: There's no limit~
- Can summoners have one familiar and one hound each? I was a little confused when I read that someone can only have one familiar because I wasn't sure if that was in addition to a hound or not. Summoners can have 1 hound AND 1 familiar. Whysts can only have a familiar (they aren't summoners), and only 1 of these as well.
- How do you pronounce 'Aelf' and 'Whyst'? Ale-ff (like the beer, with an fff sound at the end) and 'Whist' like 'whisper'

History/Setting:
- Why are they called Hell Hounds? Do they come from hell? Wouldn't they be allied with demons? I know I saw something about it, but I wasn't sure - are Hounds possibly considered demons of a sort? Do some humans (especially those who don't understand/trust magic) think them to be demons because they are summoned and have pacts like demons do (at least in the stories of today, if not ICly?) They're called that because they come from the Abyss, or Hell. In a sense some humans might consider them to be demons for that reason, yes... though most hounds aren't as bloodthirsty, I suppose, as the ones who attacked the humans long ago. Though most hounds would be offended to be called a demon.
- Where do demons come from and what do they look like? How do they kill? Do they eat souls? I guess that's not yet pertinent to rp, though, right, since demons have not yet been heard of in this time and no one is sure why Hounds are being summoned? Like hounds they also come from the abyss. The Hounds could probably tell their summoners what the demons are like so it's not a big secret. I'll write a bit of info on it and update it in the thread when it's done.
- Is the Abyss not Hell? Is that not where the demons came from? What sort of demons are these? Why were the Hounds their enemies prior to the Hounds' bonds with humans? See above. As for the hounds being the demons' enemies that is a good question. Hounds and demons do not like each other very much. It's kind of like cats and dogs, haha. It's pretty much an instinctive thing at this point, and they've never gotten along.
- Are all magical people without Hounds known as Whysts until/unless they become Aelfin? Technically, an Aelf is always an aelf, but they most do not realize this until a summoning happens, especially since it hasn't happened in so long. The more powerful ones, or ones in-tune with their ability, are usually just considered strong whysts. But then, keep in mind, most normal folks don't really believe in magic nowadays. Some people might not even know to call someone a Whyst, though this is the official term. Some might just refer to themselves as witches or 'seers' or other such terms. Hope that helps!

Bonds:
- I understand during a summoning that both parties must forge a contract of sorts through a promise or sacrifice to seal their bond. However, I'm not quite sure I understand the nature of these promises/sacrifices. Is it just one thing from each party? Can it be a list of terms? Do Hounds sometimes not want to leave the Abyss, or do they all want to come to the human world? Is it always an exchange of the Hound being allowed into the human world in exchange for adding their magic to the human's that they're bonded to? The important thing about the sacrifice is that it's something meaningful to both parties, so this can vary quite a lot! The other caveat is that material items are not enough. So a promise of some sort, or some kind of pact or other agreement must be made. For most the promise of increased power/strength/longevity through the hound might be enough for the human, and the hound may think it's enough to just be allowed into Earth. But sometimes one or the other, or both, may want something different. As for the hound not wanting to leave the Abyss, well... if that was the case, there wouldn't be a summoning, haha.
- Do hounds and summoners always have the same affiliated element of magic that they're best at? I think you're asking if their elements have to be the same. In that case, the answer is no. The summoner might be best at water and the hound at fire. There's no rule about this c:
- When hounds die, do they return in spirit form to the Abyss, where they may or may not be able to be summoned again? (like rehoming?) If the person who summoned them dies, do they die instantly because they can't be in the human world without their bond with said human? When a hound dies, they are destroyed. There's no being reborn. In all cases if the summoner dies the hound will die, there's never been an exception to this. The hound gives up a lot of it's energy, initially, to be able to cross over. So if it died in a weak/puppy state then it's definitely going to be destroyed. Even as an adult, however, they're so closely linked to the human that they would not be able to escape it. The reason that the human might, in some cases, be able to survive (and then only if the bond was fairly new) is because being on Earth their own life force/soul/what-have-you is at 'home' and thus has a bit more leverage, so to speak. The hound doesn't have that advantage. It's extremely unlikely for the human to survive such an ordeal, though, and many probably wouldn't want to, or would go quite insane.

Tolling:
- Does each Tolling mean one Summoning? Not really... the Tolling itself isn't really a specific, singular, event. It's more like a sound/sensation that all summoners eventually become aware of. It's more of a 'calling'. Which is why most summoners tend to find their way to the tunnels when the tolling becomes especially powerful to them. (not all summoners hear the sound at the same time, or with the same intensity)
- Can several Summonings happen at once in different Caverns, or is it just one person in the whole Underground at a time (during a Summoning)? One person per cavern, so it could happen simultaneously, yes. c:
- Can the tolling get louder/more disturbing for a person over time until they can no longer resist it? How long can this process take? See above. And it varies. For most it's anywhere from a few months to several years.
- Do Whysts always hear the tolling as weak in general and Aelfin always hear it strongly, even before a Summoning? Do they hear it even after they become Summoners? After a summoning the summoner will not hear the sound anymore. For Whysts it's more like an echo, and most of them do not even hear it at all. The whysts that do hear it are probably somehow picking it up from other summoners (their strongest abilities are in things related to the Mystic element, so that could have something to do with it).

Familiars:
- Can Hounds speak telepathically to Familiars, even if Familiars can't talk? Do they basically understand Hounds as much as they do humans? Good question! I'm going to say yes. A Familiar wouldn't be able to communicate back, though, other than maybe some basic animal urges (if a bit more intelligent than normal animals). Same for Summoners and their Familiars.
- Can a familiar be transferred from one person to another, whether they're an Aelf or a Whyst? Non-magic humans can't have Familiars, right? Only summoners and whysts can have familiars, unfortunately. And familiars cannot be 'transferred' either. They create a bond with the summoner/whyst that is somewhat similar to that of the summoner/hound, though not as powerful. Losing a familiar might make the aelf or whyst feel very disturbed and even sick, but it wouldn't kill them.

Pups and Breedings:
- From what I understand, all Hounds that come through the portal start out as pups because of the weakened state that coming through leaves them in. Is this a reincarnation of sorts from their world? How does it differ from puppies that come from breedings? That's correct c: They are more like 'spirit' creatures, so by releasing a vast amount of their energy/essence, they're able to cross the portal. As for breedings there is more info on that in the guild. New hounds are weak little spirits that form in an in-between place if the breeding happens on earth (and they're slowly being drawn back to the Abyss). They must still be summoned just like a normal adult hound but since they're so much closer it's not necessary (nor would it be possible) for them to release that vast amount of energy that adult hounds in the Abyss go through.
- If no one knows about new pups from mingling, how can they be summoned? Are they not summoned from the caverns? See above c: No one knew about Hounds, either, but they were still summoned haha. It's the mystery of the magic~
- What are the differences between summoning a Hound directly from the Abyss and summoning a bred pup? I thought the bred pups also got sucked into the Abyss. Again, see above.
- How would a newly-created pup go through the bonding process with a human who summoned it if it doesn't have the experience as an adult to know what's going on? And since they're so weak already, how would they have enough energy to go through a portal that reduces adults to pups themselves? For the latter portion, see above. I don't remember if I put this part in the info or not... it's possible that I haven't. But, basically, all hounds/pups have a sort of instinctual knowledge of certain things. Like a shared ancestral knowledge. So even newly made pups are born with a certain amount of 'wisdom' so to speak (they basically inherit it from their parents).

Whoo! Thanks for all the questions xD Some of these were actually really enlightening for me as well! I'll have to go and add some of this stuff to the info in the guild <3

- Can Summoners speak back to their hounds through their thoughts without using their verbal voice? Yep! It works both ways.

- It's okay that Vermithirod is a relatively wealthy old man? I figured since you approved him it'd be okay, but I just wanted to make sure. ^_^; Yes XD Summoners can be anyone!

- Should there be a [A] next to his profile thread? Woops! Yes, I will fix that >_>

- When Hounds speak to someone, whether their Summoner, a familiar, or another hound, can they control their telepathy to just be heard by one being? Or do they automatically hear each other at a close enough proximity just as if they were speaking aloud? Likewise, can they intentionally make their telepathy heard to several beings at once? It can be controlled c:

- Do Hounds need to eat and sleep? I'm assuming the answer is yes, since they came to the human/material world, but I wanted to be sure because I know they were once 'spirits' of a sort. Yes, they do need to eat and sleep, but not as much as a normal creature of their size, or as often. However, if they've used a lot of magic or energy in other ways, they're going to be more hungry and tired afterward.

- The character you play, Brienne - she's blind, correct? I saw something mentioned about characters summoning Hounds to see or hear, but didn't you say that the Hound would be their 'eyes' and 'ears'? Is there some sort of magic that allows her to see directly? Or (and this just occurred to me), is her Hound's role less like a seeing-eye dog and more like a sight-sharing magic dog? It's part of their bond, so she can use Ithiliel's eyes to literally see, or she can use the bond to see through her own eyes, in a sense (it sort of transfers the vision to her natural level and in the natural colors/etc a human would see in). As you can imagine, the latter type of magic is MUCH more complicated, which is why it's way more taxing than the former. Both can only be done for short amounts of time. So yeah, she's more like a sight-sharing magic dog. xD Brienne doesn't use this all the time, though, because of how draining it can be.

- So do the non-Aelfin see the Hounds as just great big dogs? Big enough to ride on? Is it the magic that keeps them unconvinced so that even if they would be convinced otherwise, they are, for some reason, unable to 'see'/believe? Right now, yes. Most people don't even believe in the hounds as anything more than legends so that's definitely a big part of it. But it's also part of the magic at work. Whysts are more likely to see than truth than regular humans, but even that is not a guaranteed thing.

- Shamaki Oro, as you may have seen in the guild, is a character account of mine used for roleplay. If I were to get his character approved and play him, would it be alright if I used his account rather than my own to do so, or do you think that would be too confusing? I'd rather have people stay on their main accounts so it doesn't get confusing, but you can certainly still apply to have him approved c:

- Have you read the Bartimaeus Trilogy? XD Some of this story reminds me vaguely of that, like the Abyss, the importance of names, and the summoning of the Hounds. Which I love, because that's my favorite book series ever. I haven't! But it certainly seems like something I may be interested in. I'll have to look it up c:

They don't have to be bonded but they're extremely elusive and rare to begin with, so an unbonded familiar would be even more of a rare thing to see, though not impossible.

LOL it's ok xD

And that's right. The same way that people can't tell that the dogs are, in general, rather unusual they don't really 'see' the wings or extra tails, etc. c:

1. Yes, I understand. However, it's fine to have a rich character as long as you don't use it to force anyone else's character to do something (unless you agree upon it oocly first). Like blackmailing them or something of that nature. Otherwise a rich character is pretty much the same as anyone else, they can just afford nicer things, etc.

2. He might be able to tell that something is sort of strange, but I think that for the moment it would be best to stick to the idea that non-Aelfin cannot see them for what they truly are. The magic working on things is still quite strong, esp since it's so newly awoken, if that makes sense?

3. I'll have to look into it more, for sure. I have a stack of books I've already been meaning to read and haven't been able to get around to xD But if it looks like something I'd like I'll definitely add it to my book list! c: