< 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!
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< 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 Tehodis Kitai on Dec 6, 2016 22:46:06 GMT -7
Tehodis had taken off down the alley and cursed her absent partner. Ian, his name was. He had a record of good work, but had a habit of using his instinct more than protocol. If he felt like a lead was a waste, he'd ignore it. If she had listened to his instinct - she wouldn't be chasing down a potential pirate. Or criminal. Or waystrel. Not many shadowy figures roamed the streets of Eersaeb, especially not on this side of town... But the Defiled Grail was well known to perform big operations where the SSPB was weakest. Tehodis alone, in a maze of alleys... Well, that sounded weak to her. The start Woodrow's estate was a mere twenty minutes away. Sure, he wasn't there. But there were valuables, she was certain.
Damn that Ian.
She picked a direction and dashed down, her hand always ready to pull her rapier as she turned each corner. She was about to turn back and pick a different route when she heard a familiar voice start yelling. She tried to figure who the voice belonged to... And it just came up with a strange memory she couldn't really place. She could tell it was the beaches in Nowra, the ones covered in flowers. She had gone there for a weekend vacation that Woodrow had insisted upon (he had thankfully been called to other business at the last moment). She remembered sitting on the beach and waiting for someone to bump into her. Waiting for someone to stumble, to apologize. Waiting for an adventure to begin. Her eyes faded from the white jolt that had filled them as she remembered.
"Endless!" She called out, putting the pieces together. She ran even faster than she had before, following the loudness of his voice, following the clanging of cans. She appeared on the opposite side of the alley from him, and for a moment looked at him - confused. He made a not-entirely-subtle towards the girl in rags, and Tehodis nodded as she put a hand on her rapier.
"Ma'am, I'm with the Peacekeepers," She announced, slowly stepping over a knocked over trash bin, "I need you to stand up slowly, with your hands in the air. I just want to talk to you, but I need to make sure that--"
The woman was not going to do anything slowly. She was quick on her feet and decided that Endless was less threatening than the woman with a blade and a badge. She got up on knocked knees and dashed to fly under his legs and away. Her bones seemed to crack and shift as she did, making her small enough to do just that without even brushing a shoulder against his calves. Tehodis saw her movement and pulled her rapier out, moving in, but she was nowhere near close enough: "Endless, stop her!"
Post by Endless Laeretti on Dec 7, 2016 0:04:58 GMT -7
Endless was't sure if he was brilliant or incredibly lucky, but his plan had worked. Tehodis had showed up, right on the other end of the alley which was actually perfect for boxing this girl in, and she started advancing, one hand on a rapier. Endless smiled, feeling a small surge of pride for her. But then his face morphed to surprise when the sickly-looking girl dashed at him, diving between his legs and contorting herself in a way that made Endless do a double take. Before he knew it she was behind him, back on her feet, and was running.
"Endless, stop her!" Tehodis called, and Endless felt a pang of familiarity in the way she spoke to him, as though he wasn't just some random citizen she'd been speaking to. He didn't waste time questioning it, though, because the girl really was getting away, and something needed to be done about that.
Not having time to think of a better alternative than exposing himself, Endless reached one hand behind him, at the empty metal trash bin, and then he did a running leap. Endless flew into the air, pulling the trash can behind him as he sailed up. He felt gravity seem to lighten on his body as he used his power to liquidate his movements. He never enjoyed doing this with an audience, but it still always felt really great to feel like he was 100% in control of his own body, moving exactly the way he wanted it to with the kind of wisp-like grace that would make seasoned dancers jealous.
He flew forward at a high, but controlled, speed, kicking off of the alley walls every time he started to descend, his empty trash can hovering behind him. The girl, the suspicious character, was running quickly, pulling sharp turns through the alley network, but Endless was keeping up just fine, his eyes following her and his body keeping up with his eyes solely by virtue of his thoughts rather than his own muscle control.
He was close enough now, so he kicked off of a wall one more time before suspending himself into a sustained levitation, increasing his speed as he came up behind and above her. He flung his arm forward, the empty trash can behind him launching forward at his command. The girl below twisted her neck around to look behind her, only just in time to see the metal cylinder descend upon her. She was quite soundly caught by the object, tripping on her feet once her vision was obscured. This caused her to go into a roll, the motion aided by the can, until she collided with a wall.
Endless finally landed, panting a bit from moving himself at such high speeds, but he made sure to quickly run up and stand near the open end of the trash can, prepared to flip it up and trap her under it if she tried to get out. For now though, she seemed to be slightly dazed by the impact with the wall, and was content to just lie there in the tipped over trash can.
"Tehodis!" he called, hoping she wasn't far behind him. "Er, Officer Tehodis? I've got her!"
Post by Tehodis Kitai on Dec 7, 2016 16:29:43 GMT -7
Tehodis had run a different route from the others, knowing she wasn't fast enough to catch them in a simple footrace. So instead, she followed her instincts and - once again - wound up on the opposite end of the alley from Endless and the girl. She arrived just in time to see Endless trap her in a garbage can - just the right place for a pirate, if that was really what she was.
"Wow," Tehodis panted, grinning as she jogged towards them. She stopped in front of Endless, looking from him to the garbage can. "That was something, Endless. You're quite the sorcerer--" The can wiggled, the girl inside trying to get free. She held up a finger to Endless and pulled her rapier. "Ma'am, my partner and I are going to let you out of that can, okay? That's no place for a person to be stuck. But when I do, you can't run. I've got my weapon drawn, and I will use it if you attempt to flee, or to attack. When the can is removed, you will drop your weapon. Do you understand me, ma'am?" The can stilled the moment Tehodis said her weapon was out, and after a long silence a raspy voice let out "...Yes..."
Tehodis nodded to Endless to remove the can using the magic he'd shown before. He nodded, concentrating to do so carefully. The girl seemed like she might run. Her eyes were wide, alert even though they had a glassy look to them. When she came face-to-face with the rapier, however, she stilled herself, and her dagger clattered to the pavement. She got to her knees before Tehodis, knowing now her only option was to beg-- "Please, let me go. You've gotta understand--"
"What is your name, ma'am?" The girl seemed to shake and her eyes welled, Tehodis bit her lip in thought for a moment... Then she put her rapier away and knelt down with the girl. She grabbed the girl's hands in her own, causing the girl to still, a panicked deer assessing the situation. "Are you hurt?" The girl shook her head, but Tehodis didn't really believe her. She was bruised, beaten. Hell, she looked a step above a corpse.
Tehodis continued though, allowing the girl whatever lie she wanted to keep, "Do you have something I can call you? It can be your name, or another. Mine is Tehodis." The girl's chapped lips made a few different shapes, and eventually she just said "They call me... Plague."
"They? Who's 'they'?"
The girl quieted once more. Tehodis sighed. She wanted to do this the kind way, the easy way -- but the girl, this Plague, wasn't allowing Tehodis to do that. "Plague, please put your hands in front of you, like this--" Tehodis displayed her hands together at the wrists, Plague hesitated, but did it. Tehodis pulled a pair of light-weight manacles from her belt and cuffed the girl. "I'm sorry Plague, but because you ran I have to do this. You are under arrest by the title of the Sumish Sea Peacekeepers Brigade and its officer identified as one Tehodis Kitai. You have the right to remain silent under the law of the Sultan of Submiere, though we advise to you that the truth is your saviour now and always. Do you understand what I have just told you, Plague?" The girl nodded, dumbfounded, and then looked to Endless curiously. He had no badge. No look to him like a cop.
Tehodis sighed as she stood, pulling the girl up with her, and turned to Endless. "What you did was amazing, Endless. I've got to take her to headquarters but... Would you... Come with me?"
Last Edit: Dec 7, 2016 16:30:41 GMT -7 by Tehodis Kitai
Post by Endless Laeretti on Dec 8, 2016 18:29:53 GMT -7
Endless felt invigorated, excited, and accomplished in the way he so infrequently did. Even if he was already kind of tired, and probably really needed to start practicing with his stamina with his ability, it was still really cool to him that he'd managed to successfully apprehend a ne'er-do-well. Tehodis seemed to think so too, as once she arrived on the scene she was quick to call what he did "amazing". Endless hadn't exactly expected to hear that, and was a little worried that between now and yesterday he was going to start getting too used to positive attention.
She also called what he did sorcery, though, and that made Endless pause. He'd never studied magic before, and hadn't been born into anything specific as far as he was aware, so she was mistaken. If anything, it was more like a mutation, he was pretty sure, from the radiation. But before he could really say anything to correct her or even thank her for the compliment, the can started wiggling.
Endless reached out a hand in preparation, ready to flip it up and keep the criminal trapped beneath it if he had to, but Tehodis had drawn her rapier and spoke in a commanding tone of voice, informing their captive of her situation with a clarity and sureness that really made Endless marvel at how far he must have come. Her words seemed to still the girl, and she offered her understanding of the situation, so at Tehodis's signal Endless went ahead and carefully removed the can from around her, levitating it away and setting it upright nearby, just in case he needed it again.
The girl introduced herself as "Plague" when prodded to by Tehodis, and Endless watched as she was subjected to a brief interrogation. Tehodis seemed concerned for her well-being, and Endless wondered how many other law officers could be bothered to take the same care. She also called Endless her "partner" and that sent a strange surge of excitement through him when she did. It must not have been all that believable though, because Plague looked at him with a dubious expression as Tehodis manacled her, informing her of her rights, as though the pirate(?) didn't really believe that Endless was a cop.
Well, she wasn't wrong.
When Tehodis spoke to him next, Endless felt the same familiar sensation in her words as he had when she told him to chase the girl just earlier. There was a strangely knowing warmth behind the words that hadn't been there when Tehodis had interviewed him in the pottery shop, and it made Endless wonder if she had somehow, someway, remembered who he was now. But she hadn't said anything to that effect, and for all Endless knew he was just reading too heavily into something that wasn't there. He wasn't about to ask, either, as that would just weird her out if she didn't actually remember him.
So instead, he just nodded, smiled, and accepted the invitation. "Yeah, I'd be happy to," he said. He wasn't completely certain if that was actually true - something about the SSPB had always made him a little nervous, and he couldn't quite place what it was or why. But if Tehodis worked there then it couldn't be a bad place, right?
He followed her through the maze-like alley network that she seemed to know like the back of her hand, and he tried not to stare too much at Plague as they made their way.
Post by Tehodis Kitai on Dec 8, 2016 20:33:00 GMT -7
She was so incredibly happy when Endless agreed that she beamed - much to the annoyance of her new ward. Plague stayed silent however, and worked on freakishly bending her finger bones to get out the manacles. Tehodis noticed however, and grasped Plague's wrist with her hand, shaking her head.
The group walked the quickest route Tehodis knew to the SSPB headquarters. On the way, Tehodis pointed out Belfric's fruit stand - "He has the best apples!" - and the magic shop - "There's this really interesting set of marbles... You know, maybe I'll get a bonus for this. I'll give you some, of course, but maybe... Maybe I can afford it now! - and then finally to the SSPB. She asked an intern to show Endless to her office, and promised she'd catch up as soon as Plague was booked. The girl offered one more desperate look to Endless that said Don't let her do this. But it was too late.
Tehodis' office was well-kempt, and simple compared to the other offices Endless passed down the hallway. Her desk was perfectly organized, files placed into a particular order along its surface; quills arranged by length. One thing was left askew however, a drawer that hadn't been completely closed. It was an inch, perhaps less, from closing. Nothing particular noticeable... But should someone decide to look inside of it, they would see Vincent's two letters from the day before.
The walls were bare except for a single painting of the beaches of Nowra. It was simple, elegant, beautiful... But when looked at closely, there could be seen two figures near the edge of the woods nearby. A woman in white, a boy in black, following a coloured light of some kind. They were mere specks... But they held meaning. Real meaning.
It took nearly an hour, but finally Tehodis was able to head back to her office. She dearly hoped that Endless hadn't left. She had a vague memory or two of him, and wanted to fill the rest of that in... Under the guise of filling out a report. Yes, the report needed to be done. But she could have finished it in booking. She didn't have to pull him aside. In privacy. She wanted to.
"Sorry that took so long!" Her apology was profuse as she entered, and she held an apology pastry on a plate to make up for the lost time... Are you still here?
Post by Endless Laeretti on Dec 9, 2016 19:23:33 GMT -7
Walking with Tehodis through Eersaeb while she happily pointed out the sights to him was the last thing Endless had been expecting to happen when he stepped off that boat this morning, but here it was, actually happening. Of course, it was happening while they were escorting a pirate, which made the mood a little awkward, but hey, beggars couldn't be choosers, right?
It felt... familiar. He was pretty sure that even when he'd known Tehodis before, they'd never really gone touring shops together. It was always just meeting on the beach... wasn't it? Why did walking down the street and looking into store windows with her feel like a memory? Well, he didn't have too much time to consider it, because all too soon they'd arrived at the SSPB offices. Endless had still pointedly not brought up any potential memory of himself with Tehodis just yet; he'd simply enjoyed and participated in the conversation with her as though they'd already cleared that hurdle, as though they'd already become friends again. But she asked him to wait in her office for her while she handled the business of taking in the pirate. Apparently she wanted to have him present while she wrote out the report, but Endless somehow felt like there was more to it than that.
He took a seat, initially, when she left him there. He simply sat and let himself think about how great things seemed to be going. He'd had an unexpectedly incredible day yesterday, in Niseca, even if it had caused him to have to catch an early-morning boat today. It had been worth it thought. The day spent with Simon was... Endless took a deep breath and clapped his hands against his cheeks for a moment, allowing a brief moment of glee at the thought and then resolving to put it behind him for the moment. He didn't need Tehodis walking in to find him gushing over a crush. He also didn't want to actually think too deeply on what yesterday meant, either; he'd always been the sort to get crushes easily, and he had hazy memories of one such instance of affection turning out very badly, so he was cautious about delving back into that world.
Well, regardless, yesterday had still been fantastic, and now here he was today, having just caught a pirate, and about to reconnect with an old, once dear friend. He briefly considered that if things were going this well, it was only a matter of time before something went wrong, like always. He stamped down that thought, not willing to entertain the negativity today.
He started looking around the office. Tehodis was taking a bit of time, which he was sure was probably normal, and he was interested in how tidy and minimal her office seemed compared to some of the ones they had passed. Her quills looked really neat, her desk was orga-, ah. One of her drawers was ajar. Endless bent to shut it upon noticing it, eager to put it back in order, but he couldn't help but notice the slips of paper partially sticking through the crack of an opening. He supposed it was natural human curiosity that made you want to read a stray note once you saw it sitting out, and Endless was compelled by that urge too, but equally he didn't want to do anything to invade Tehodis's privacy.
But something about it... just at the glance he'd had, the writing on that note had looked somehow familiar to him, a scrawl he swore he recognized but couldn't place where. He really wanted to take another look, to verify this familiarity. He bit his cheek, staring at the tantalizing slip of paper.
No.
He shouldn't. It would be an invasion of privacy. He tore his eyes away from the open drawer and instead diverted his attention to the painting on the wall. He smiled once he recognized it, easily identifiable as the flowered beaches he had spent years visiting. It took him a moment to stop and think about why she would have a painting like this in her office. He scrunched his brows, thinking that it wasn't exactly strange - it's not like she couldn't have visited Nowra without him after they'd parted ways. But then, he noticed it; two small figures in the painting. One looked like a girl in white, the other a boy in black, colored lights around them that they were following. Something in Endless's memory throbbed.
What?
It was right then that Tehodis returned to her office, a pastry with her and an apology on her lips. Endless whipped his head around at her entrance, staring at her with a sense of confusion. Somehow, social grace had completely deserted him for the moment, and rather than greet her or assure her the wait hadn't been bad, all he could do was point at the painting.
Post by Tehodis Kitai on Dec 10, 2016 8:05:38 GMT -7
He was focused on the painting - so focused in fact, that he had no other words. Tehodis blanched a bit, not knowing the answer off the top of her head. In some ways, it had just always been there. She never thought about it much, only occasionally having the time to look at it with fondness. She placed the pastry on the desk - pulling a piece of parchment as a plate for it, as there was no way she would permit the crumbs on her desk - and then joined him at the painting.
She thought about the day she entered the office - was it there then? No. The walls were empty. Woodrow had shown her in, it was just after the time when he started standing too close to her. Before, he had always seemed friendly, more friendly to her than to others. But around the time he gave her the office was when his stance was closer, his hands seemed like weapons, and his smile seemed to have a demand in it. He had said many things, but she hadn't really listened. She had just been noticing that the walls were blank. She remembered then that, she thought he had noticed her staring. She remembered him asking what at - she remembered telling him that the wall was empty. But then she realized... She didn't remember any of that.
She only remembered that the wall was empty, and that Woodrow had stood too close.
She had assumed he had gotten her the painting. She had quite liked it. What if he hadn't though? It always seemed to be out of one of her dreams. Had she somehow gotten it without remembering?
"I don't know," She shrugged as she stared too at the painting. She realized then that the figure in black was more familiar now than ever. She still couldn't place the scene to one of her dreams but-- she looked at Endless and then back at the picture, "It was just here. I just assumed Lord Woodrow put it in sometime after I took the office. It's pretty though, isn't it? Nowra... I've been there before. I--"
She remembered the beaches, of standing on the beach and expecting to be crashed into. She remembered... She'd met Endless before, hadn't she? Everything seemed to be in pieces, but they refused to form a complete picture. She grasped at the threads, she forced their ends together with knots. She solved it: "We've been there, haven't we?"
Post by Endless Laeretti on Dec 10, 2016 8:56:14 GMT -7
Endless watched her face with rapt focus as she stared at the painting. He watched as she expressed a familiar sense of confusion, once she thought on it, and he watched as she seemed to put some pieces together.
He nodded at her, once her attention was back on him. "...Yeah. I met you there four years ago. And then..."
He turned back to look at the painting, stared at it hard. His eyebrows knitted together, and he let out a frustrated grunt. It was so familiar, the colored lights gathered in a circle around the two specs of people, standing at the edge of the forest. It was familiar, and it pulled at his mind, but he couldn't summon it back to him.
The most frustrating thing was that he knew, for sure, that once upon a time he remembered... most of it. Back when he and Tehodis still met at the beaches of Nowra, he knew he was able to recall a lot of things about whatever had happened to them. But as the years went by, as Tehodis disappeared, he forgot more and more of it. And now all he could do was stare at this painting, unable to recall anything aside from flashes of feelings, and feeling annoyed because of it.
He sighed. "...And then something happened to us. Something I can't remember anymore. But we weren't the same after it happened. We were friends once, I know for sure... and we kept meeting there on that beach, until one day we didn't. You sort of... vanished, and I had no idea where you'd gone."
He dropped his gaze, staring at his shoes. His smile was sad. "Imagine my surprise when I found you today, on the one day I decided to come back to visit home."
Post by Tehodis Kitai on Dec 10, 2016 9:13:30 GMT -7
She laughed nervously, feeling terrible as Endless told her she'd basically abandoned him. She could hardly remember, but he seemed far more certain. At least he didn't seem angry about it.
"Imagine mine, as I remembered something I thought I'd forgotten," She smiled back at him, and revelled in the moment of friendship before breaking it by turned back to her desk, "Now uh... I guess I do have to get a statement from you, Endless."
She took a seat behind her desk and grabbed the folder she needed, "Just put down everything you remember from the time you saw the pirate, and that would about cover it, and I'll uh... Well, I thought I'd share it with the higher-ups. They like to know when citizens go above and beyond. They like to make a big to-do about it. And that's for normal things like... reporting a crime. Helping to apprehend a pirate... That's a much bigger deal. I could see you getting something special for that. Heck," She smiled as the thought came to her, "Maybe they'd even offer you a job. I... Well I don't know what you're doing right now, but it'd be nice to have a friend on the team."
Post by Endless Laeretti on Dec 10, 2016 9:37:25 GMT -7
He took his seat opposite her at the desk when she sat down. He had felt like there was maybe more to say on the matter they'd been discussing - hell, part of him had hoped that maybe Tehodis could help him piece back together what had happened, thinking maybe if the two combined their fragments, they could get a picture. But he also didn't want to push things to the point of being uncomfortable for her, not when it was clear that she was only just remembering that she knew him.
Instead, he'd drop it for now and focus on this... report?
As she explained it to him, he felt a slight surge of discomfort. He scratched at his cheek thoughtfully. "A job, huh? That's... ahah."
He wasn't really sure where to begin. He was already somewhat uncomfortable just being in the HQ building. Part of him kept worrying he'd see the man he was pretty sure was Markus Woodrow suddenly lay a hand on his shoulder at any moment, staring at him accusingly and informing him that he remembered Endless's face clear as day. He sighed.
"I'm gonna be honest, Tehodis... I don't think I'm quite cut out for a job like this. Though I really appreciate that you would be happy if I worked here." He gave her a reassuring smile and then frowned again when he looked at the paper she'd handed him, picking up the quill she'd provided. "And... actually, about this report... would it be possible for me to give it anonymously? Do they have to know my name?"
He realized once he said it how suspicious that must have sounded. To say he wasn't cut out for this work, and then ask not to give his name? She was probably going to think he was a criminal. And well... he supposed technically that was true. After all, the whole reason he was wary of Lord Woodrow being around was because the man had just happened to be present a couple of years ago when Endless had stolen a loaf of bread out of desperation, when he was down on his luck, and Endless had barely evaded capture.
That was a crime he never paid for, so yes, that did technically make him a criminal. But that wasn't the reason he didn't want to give his name out. And he wasn't quite sure he wanted to get into the reasons for that with her.
The skin OTHERWORLD was made by JAWN of WICKED WONDERLAND.
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