< atton revisited > The information page for Atton has been fully revised and updated with the new map!
< updated calendar > The Fortuna calendar has been updated in the "Other" lore section! This includes a document which displays the calendar for you to see, making it much easier to understand.
< moving map > The first functional map has been released in the News section! This map is also interactive, allowing you to drag and drop between points in order to determine distances. This is the first iteration, and there's more and better to come!
< first annual awards > The results for the First Annual Fortuna Year-End Awards have been posted! Go and take a look at who the finalists were, and who took home the big prizes!
< new default skin > Our new skin has passed the beta test, and is now the new Default for the forums! If you have any issues with this skin, send a PM or Discord to Mellie.
< human lore update > Humans have been updated with TWENTY-FIVE subraces/subcultures which add numerous options, and a little extra lore and flavour.
< magic lore update > Magical Lore has been enhanced with the addition of a post on Magical Education. From Beginner to Expert, this is how you learn the spells.
< a change to member groups > Member groups are now based on storyline! You can change your displayed storyline by editing the settings in your profile.
Welcome to the world of Fortuna, a land of fantastic proportions. This is an original fantasy roleplay that takes place in a world developed over nearly a decade of work and collaboration. We aim to encourage all participants to have a hand in the stories of the characters here, and the world around them. Your choices are key - so make them with pride. You decide who wins the wars, you decide who becomes King, the world is ours, and together we will bring it to life!
Post by Acacia-Green on Dec 18, 2016 22:13:48 GMT -7
12th of The All-Seeing Eye, early afternoon
Green sat at the chessboard thinking deeply about her next move. The white King was in a check by the black queen and rook, and she was trying to think of the most clever way out of it. Father always said that in chess if you weren't at least five steps ahead, you were behind. She didn't want to be behind. She wanted to win. Though, she supposed, it was a little hard to win when you were playing chess against yourself, because either you stalemated and neither side won, or one side won which meant the other side lost. But, Father also said that even when you lost, there was something to be learned, and knowledge was the most powerful thing a man could have.
Father had been busy that morning, so he had told her to play chess until he was finished. She'd completed six games already, and from the looks of the black set-up on this board she was close to finishing the seventh. Green didn't mind though. She would play chess all day if Father told her to. Though she was beginning to feel a bit hungry, so she hoped he finished what he was doing soon and perhaps she could make them lunch.
Post by Thomas Dunn on Dec 18, 2016 22:53:51 GMT -7
He was leaving in two days for Dirys, heading down to Enezenn for a large number of reasons - all plenty important. But the problem with leaving was that he didn't have any real help. Yes, ACACIA-GREEN was far more capable than she had ever been before -- but outside of cooking, cleaning, chess, and reading, there was little she could do. She certainly couldn't take care of the other "patients". The ones he harvested pieces for her from. The ones he was trying new versions of his machine on.
That's why today was so busy. He had to... discharge them. It would be too cruel to do otherwise. And so, as he didn't want GREEN to see as he shot them all one by one and whistled them in carts through the death chute to the crematorium, he had assigned her to play chess all day. She was not to leave her room. He didn't want her stumbling in on him.
When he finished disposing of the bodies, he disinfected each of their rooms; shredded and burned each of their files; erased them from existence; he took a long shower with lemon. Lemon, he had learned long ago, was the only thing that could get rid of the smell of death. After all of that, he decided that to make up for leaving her locked in her room all day, he would give her a treat. He went to his book shelf and found one of the simplest titles he could - A Colorful Introduction to the Anatomy of the Human Brain - which he then wrapped with a green ribbon... Always green ribbon. With all of it sorted, he finally went to her room - knocked on the door to be polite - and unlocked it with his key. Like most rooms in the hospital, it only locked (or unlocked) from the outside.
"Good afternoon Green," Tom's voice was pleasant as he opened the door and entered the room. He kept the hand with the book behind him, keeping it hidden from her, "How has the game been going today?"
Post by Acacia-Green on Dec 18, 2016 23:08:39 GMT -7
The white king was doomed. The black queen and rook had been joined by a bishop, and with only one square to move it wasn't enough to get him out of their trap. "Checkmate." She gently placed the white king on his back and then looked up as she heard a knock on her door. She knew it was Father. Not just because the building was empty except for the two of them, but also because she could always feel when he was near, just as she could feel when he was gone far away. She stood up as he opened the door, smoothing her skirt and ducking her head respectfully before smiling softly at him. "Good afternoon Father," she replied. "The game has gone well, I think. Black has won five times, and White has won twice. I was just going to set up the board for a new game, if you would like to join me?"
Post by Thomas Dunn on Dec 18, 2016 23:19:30 GMT -7
He had always wondered - if his child had survived, would she have been half as perfect a child as Green? Unlikely. Green was built for perfection. He may have had room to improve her, but she was far beyond any other. He smiled as she reported her day and nodded in approval. He always played the colour black, and so it made sense to him that she had emulated some of his strategies in her own games. As he thought of it now, he smiled at the potential his trip to Dirys had for getting his black pawn back. ACACIA-BLACK. He answered her, "Perhaps later. I think you deserve a chance to stretch your legs, and fill your belly, don't you?"
He stepped to the side, permitting her to leave the room with a gesturing arm. As she moved however, he stopped her. He smiled and pretended he had misremembered, but he really just enjoyed the exercise of control: "I have a gift for you, Green." He revealed the book with its green ribbon perfectly matched to her - he had quite a lot of it. It had been a decent amount of time since he'd given her a new book. He preferred she memorize them before she got another. Today was special, however. He was leaving tomorrow, and wanted to ensure her mind was kept occupied.
Post by Acacia-Green on Dec 18, 2016 23:42:00 GMT -7
The initial disappointment of him turning down the offer of chess was instantly forgotten when Father instead said she deserved the chance to stretch her legs and fill her belly. She smiled again and nodded. "Yes, please," she responded happily. "Thank you." She was very good at walking now, much better than she had been when Father had started teaching her, but sometimes if she sat for too long her legs could get sore and stiff so the chance to stretch her legs would be nice indeed.
When he stepped aside and motioned for her to leave the room she took a few steps but then was stopped as Father seemed to remember something. She cocked her head curiously, and when he said he had a gift for her she smiled brightly, her eyes crinkling at the sides. "A gift!" She loved gifts, and she loved even more that Father thought her worthy of gifts. They were usually books, and she loved books. She could get lost in books. She could get found in books. She had memorized almost every single book that Father had ever given her. Even when he didn't tell her to, she tried to anyway because she wanted to make him proud of her. Oh she did hope it was a book.
When he pulled the book out, wrapped in her favourite ribbon of course, she gasped with delight and clapped her hands together. She reached for it only when he offered it out to her, as to grab it from his hands would be incredibly disrespectful. "Oh, thank you Father. I love it!" She stood on her tip-toes and kissed his cheek, clutching the book excitedly to her chest. Reading was learning, and Father always wanted her to be learning. Always getting smarter. She saw that this book was about anatomy, and she was very happy to learn from it. She knew Father was a doctor, and she knew reading this book would make her feel closer to him. He was the smartest man on the planet, she was sure, and maybe someday she could be half as smart as she was if she read and memorized every book he gave her.
Last Edit: Dec 19, 2016 14:41:48 GMT -7 by Acacia-Green
Post by Thomas Dunn on Dec 19, 2016 15:47:39 GMT -7
He smiled at her excitement. She had such a simple mind... And yet, one he held great interest in. One that he studied. One that he had made simpler and simpler.
At first, he had wanted Green to be as smart as possible. But when she had begun to challenge even him, he had reset her. Now, it was like clockwork. The moment she defeated him in a game of chess, or corrected him when he was wrong, he would offer her the most elaborate of gifts, and then anesthetize her and "reset" a piece of her brain. Just enough to keep her simple.
The two went to the kitchen - a remodeled break room - and Green busied herself with cooking. Tom could cook, of course, but it was far more relaxing to sit and read while she busied herself. They might trade idle conversation, Tom half-listening to the boring, simple things she had done all day, Tom inventing something boring that he might have done if he weren't busy with 'patients' most of the time. Today, he had something he wanted to talk about, but he wanted to do it when she was sitting. And so, once she had finished cooking and the two moved to the table to eat, he prepared to share the great news. The moment the fork was inches away from her mouth, he interrupted her. Stopped her. He liked how obedient she was, and would test it whenever he could.
"Green, I have something else for you... Hopefully. But first I need to ask you something, do you remember your siblings at all?" It was quite possible most of those memories had been destroyed in various resets. Still, she could have held onto them. They were, after all, incredibly close in their suffering.
Post by Acacia-Green on Dec 19, 2016 16:22:27 GMT -7
Green held onto the book until they got to the kitchen, where she set it on the table with care and then set to making them both a meal. She didn't have much preference for what she ate, but she did know what Father liked, and what he didn't like, and she always made sure to cook a meal worthy of him. She had burnt the food one time, and Father had reprimanded her but not nearly as badly as she had reprimanded herself. He deserved better from a daughter than burnt food, after all he had done for her.
She liked how relaxing it was to cook, and sometimes her and Father would talk while she did so. She would tell him about her day and what she had learned, and he would tell her about all the important things he had done as well. Sometimes he wouldn't want to talk, and that was ok too because he deserved some time to relax after working as hard as he did, and she could focus just on cooking.
When she was finished she plated the food and brought it to the table, placing Father's plate first and then her own before taking a seat. When he indicated it was ok for her to start eating, she smiled and took a forkful of food, but just before she was to eat it he spoke and she paused, then lowered the fork back to the plate. He said he had something else for her and she brightened, but when he asked if she remembered her siblings, she frowned slightly and hoped her answer wouldn't make him upset. She knew how much he loved all of her siblings. "I'm sorry, I know you've spoken of them, and sometimes it feels as though I know them because of that, but I don't remember them."
Post by Thomas Dunn on Dec 19, 2016 16:41:37 GMT -7
He placed one hand on her's and patted in gently to ensure that she knew he wasn't angry. "Not at all, Green. You and your siblings have gone through so much, it's quite understandable for your memories to have faded. Perhaps you've replaced them with all of your excellent learning." He took a bite of his own food, but did not yet signal for her to consume her's. He nodded approvingly at the taste and then continued talking - still not permitting her to eat, "While my first purpose on this business trip is to meet with a very important man with the ability to help our family, I also have reason to believe I will find your brother there. If I do, I hope to return him here to live with us as intended. Would you like that, Green?"
Post by Acacia-Green on Dec 19, 2016 17:00:26 GMT -7
Green visibly relaxed at the touch of his hand. She hadn't been tense because she worried he would be angry, because even if he was angry it was because she deserved it for foolishly forgetting her own siblings. No, it was just because there was something about his touch that always made her feel better, like home. He used it so sparingly, praising her with his voice or with gifts that were all still wonderful of course, but when he touched her it reminded her of their unshakable bond as father and daughter and filled an emptiness she never realized was inside her.
Father said it was understandable if she had forgotten them, and said perhaps all of her excellent learning had taken up the space the memories used to hold in her mind. She took that as praise and smiled softly. She wanted to remember her siblings because Father had spoken of them so fondly, but she simply couldn't. It wasn't even like there was a memory there that she could almost reach, she simply didn't have a memory of them at all. But as long as she had Father, she didn't need anyone else.
Father took a bite of his food, judging it, and Green brightened when he seemed to approve of it. She knew how much he appreciated her attention to detail when it came to his food, and whenever he approved of the end result it always made her so happy. He wasn't finished speaking though, and if he wasn't finished speaking it wasn't time for her to eat just yet. That was ok though, because she may be hungry but she knew he cared about her and what he was going to say was obviously much more important right now than eating. It would give her food time to cool off, anyway.
At the reminder that he was about to go on a business trip she nodded and tried not to show her sadness, as she knew he would be back as soon as he could and such an important doctor like him had to go all over the world sometimes to meet with other important people. But then he said something unexpected, and her eyes widened. He might find her brother? And bring him back? When he asked if she would like that she beamed and nodded. "I would like that very much! We can make new memories, to make up for not having old ones. Oh I do hope he can come live with us."
Post by Thomas Dunn on Dec 19, 2016 22:12:40 GMT -7
A part of him was concerned she might hold jealousy. That she might react to the idea of a third body in the lab in the way she sometimes reacted when he enjoyed trysts with the journalist woman. Yet, she seemed brightened by it - just as he hoped. Eventually he wished to have an army of subjects, of children, of Acacias. Green would be of higher rank among them of course, but she would need to recognize that she was not the only one wishing for Tom's attentions.
If he could find Black, it would certainly be a start.
"I hope so, too. Now, let's enjoy this delicious lunch you've made us, hm?"
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