< 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 Ellis Danton on May 8, 2018 10:57:27 GMT -7
Feofil grabbed Ellis' face, and the hands smelled of parchment, ink, soil and green tea. It was rich, and simple, and comforting, and Ellis felt things fall away around him. Everything except for: Feofil, Xanthe, Pelagia and the treaty. And there, Feofil asked Ellis what the soldier would have thought was obvious.
It was clear that Eleusia was a threat to Atton, as it was to Aurcaele, and Niseca, and Vieri. Rielcia and Malscure were about the only two countries of the world that may as well have been one. They were perfectly aligned against everyone else, and would do anything to protect each other, and to bring each other glory. In this case, Atton was close to Malscure. Eleusia wanted territory. And they wanted to take the Attonian people and put them under Eleusan control.
At least, that's what he had been told.
"Th-they w-want Atton for them... For them... themselves?" His tone belayed how sure his gut was, seeming as if he was a knot of questions, "Atton... A-and Xanthe's p-p-p-people. T-to control b-both?"
Post by Tristan Cowell on May 8, 2018 12:38:50 GMT -7
[attr="class","tcowell"]
[attr="class","tcowell2"]
[attr="class","tcowell3"]REFLECTIONS ON THE MOON
[attr="class","tcowell4"]OF A HEART TORN IN TWO
[attr="class","tcowell5"] Yes, Tristan had been correct. Ellis had been misinformed, and granted a view of great bias over Eleusia. Of its goals here.
They were goals that Tristan had not cared about for a long time, to be fair, as he had lost interest in this war a year or more ago, but they were still clear goals. With what had been told by Rielcia's first Supreme, Atton was a land tied to the history of Eleusia. It was also much like Eleusia. Distant from others, hidden away, and desiring the same as they had for a millennium or more.
Malscure and Rielcia did not wish to conquer Atton, as Ellis Danton was claiming now. They did not wish to enslave any people here. They wanted unity with Atton. They wanted a future in which Atton was as different and as self-governed as Rielcia was from Malscure - but as unified and protected against the threats of the world. Joined in the gifts of good will from the others. Bound together. They wanted Atton to choose them, over all else.
Perhaps this could be an opportunity for him, however. If Ellis Danton had been open enough to connect with this... Chief Xanthe, and aid in fostering Aurcaele to peace (no matter Pelagia's personal motives) then perhaps he could also be convinced of the goodness of Tristan's homeland. Perhaps if Feofil was that voice of reason, Ellis would listen. The boy did, obviously, seem to have some thoughts of idolatry for the man. So, Tristan gave Feofil the barest traces of a remorseful smile, and nodded before gesturing to one of the stumps.
"Ellis, will you please sit with me?" He requested, that same patient manner as the man he pretended to be ever consistent through his speech.
Post by Ellis Danton on May 8, 2018 19:08:07 GMT -7
Ellis didn't think he was wrong, but-- Feofil did.
Did Feofil know things that Ellis didn't? Surely. But was Feofil sometimes... Too trusting? Well, maybe. Ellis wouldn't think that too loudly, in case a Diviner was listening, but the thought was still there. Besides, that feeling of disappointment coming from Feofil, even if Ellis wasn't sure he deserved it, was causing his self-loathing to bubble up once more. It infected his stomach, his throat, his lungs, his mouth, his mind, and made him feel just as worthless as when Xanthe had left.
Thankfully though, Feofil didn't leave.
He did the opposite, in fact. He wanted to stay. The older man turned to one of the many masses of cleaved tree and told -- asked -- Ellis to sit. With him. It reminded Ellis somewhat of punishing talks from his mother, and nothing about it at the same time. He bit his lip, and took the nearest spot with a slight stumble. His knees pressed together, and he crunched his hands between them at the base of his thigh, almost like a child again as he sat there unsure of anything -- except that he was to be scolded.
Post by Tristan Cowell on May 10, 2018 9:49:22 GMT -7
[attr="class","tcowell"]
[attr="class","tcowell2"]
[attr="class","tcowell3"]REFLECTIONS ON THE MOON
[attr="class","tcowell4"]OF A HEART TORN IN TWO
[attr="class","tcowell5"] The boy was pathetic, honestly. Tristan was believing what he knew less and less by the moment. The Attonian Chief must have thought the boy dull-witted, and took pity on him. There was no possible way that a man of such feeble spine and tremulous tongue could have brought together a peace treaty. Perhaps what the boy had done was convince the Attonian people, wrongly, that the Aurcaeli forces were all like him.
Outwardly, of course, Tristan remained impassively gentle. He sat on a stump just one away from Ellis, and carefully crossed his hands over his lap. "Ellis, you must understand that we each hold a bias unique to the way in which we were raised. This bias is not of our own doing, or of our own fault... But it is of our responsibility to bring it into question. Tell me, Ellis, if you recall. Did I trust Pelagia during our initial talks upon the accord?" Tristan knew the answer was likely no, but it was an opportunity to set the tone. Feofil seemed the man who would warm Ellis towards his own answers, and Tristan was the type of man who wanted Ellis to fill in the blanks.
Post by Ellis Danton on May 10, 2018 12:31:43 GMT -7
Ellis drew his brows and stared down at his feet as he thought about Feofil's question. It had only been twelve days since he had approached the temple with his hands in the air, and yet the memory was so distant, and hazy. It was like a lifetime had passed. His eyes raised to his hand, stuffed rudely between his legs, and observed the inflamed brand on his hand. It was a lifetime ago. Back then he was just a scout, and then he was Xanthe's friend. Now he was Pelagia's gold leaf, and somewhat responsible for bringing Xanthe, the peacekeepers, and Aurcaele together. He had accomplished so much, and yet-- He felt like he had failed miserably.
As he focused, his memory began to clear of the day in question. Arriving through the Jaosi S'na to the temple. He recalled weapons raised at him, and how it had been Feofil who had halted the end of Ellis' life. Feofil had trusted that Ellis was truly surrendering. Feofil had invited Ellis inside. Feofil had been curious. But... Feofil had questioned how much Ellis could speak for Pelagia. It did not matter that Ellis had repeated assurances of his trust in Pelagia. Feofil needed to see it for his own eyes. Could that mean--?
"N-no," He finally whispered, before his voice came back to him at quiet strength, "No, you... You w-were open, b-but you d-didn't... You didn't tr-truh-tr-trust her. Or m-m-m-me."
Post by Tristan Cowell on May 12, 2018 15:07:02 GMT -7
[attr="class","tcowell"]
[attr="class","tcowell2"]
[attr="class","tcowell3"]REFLECTIONS ON THE MOON
[attr="class","tcowell4"]OF A HEART TORN IN TWO
[attr="class","tcowell5"] Yes, yes, Tristan had thought as much. Even though Feofil had come to Gilles and Tristan numerous times over the years, it had never been sourced in trust. It was always out of need.
Of all those present in Atton, the Peacekeepers had no secure friends, but did have two possible allies. Fiamont and Submiere, though set upon their goals, were not unmovable by Peti. They required assurances though. They wanted Eleusia, Aurcaele, Acheron, or Artavia to join in the peace first. Of them, Feofil and Erik likely thought that Eleusia had the most peacefully aligned vision for Atton. However, Eleusia also had the most to lose. Malscure was only a day or two away by sea. Tristan's home was a target if they dropped their arms and arcana.
Tristan assumed that Feofil's acquiescence to Pelagia's treaty was borne of that same need that had been displayed to him time and again, now reformed to desperation from the near decade it had been without a single change.
"Yet," Feofil continued, "We gave Lord Xista, and your people, an opportunity to prove us wrong, for we had only our biases and prejudgments to prevent us from the great success we have now achieved. Now, tell me, Ellis... What have you been told about Eleusia's desires here in Atton? What threat do you believe they post to Chief Xanthe, or to our accord of peace?"
Post by Ellis Danton on May 14, 2018 7:35:07 GMT -7
Ellis could not say that Feofil was wrong. If he and Erik had decided not to trust Ellis and Lord Xista, then Xanthe may not have felt safe meeting Pelagia, and then... Well, and then there might be no treaty at all. Ellis would still be stuck between helping Xanthe, something he believed in deeply, and following Pelagia's orders - something that felt true to his core.
At the same time... This was Eleusia Feofil was talking about. They were violent, and evil and-- they had started this war. They had started it in such a horrible fashion.
Feofil had to know what Ilithiya had told Ellis, about the Kina named Nathaniel who had tried to kill her. Who had wanted war. Feofil had to know that Tristan Cowell was unstable, and dangerous. Mad with loss to where he was fighting for the sake of bloodlust. If Feofil didn't know, Ellis guessed that right now might be his only opportunity to tell him.
"Th-they-- They're evil," He managed, shaking his head somewhat as if in disbelief of Feofil's desire to risk so much for the sake of Eleusia, "They st-t-tarted the war. And-and-and... They... Want to t-take over Atton. Th-they... They want to en-enslave the Attonja. And Tristan C-Cowell-- He... He j-just wants war. He wants to fight and k-k-kill and ravage and he's... He's evil incarnate."
Post by Tristan Cowell on May 17, 2018 10:08:52 GMT -7
[attr="class","tcowell"]
[attr="class","tcowell2"]
[attr="class","tcowell3"]REFLECTIONS ON THE MOON
[attr="class","tcowell4"]OF A HEART TORN IN TWO
[attr="class","tcowell5"] Eleusia had started this war? Eleusia had attempted to get to Atton first, and it was the rest of the world who had interfered.
Tristan himself was evil incarnate? He had not been the best Imperator in Malscure's history, but his heart was far from evil. Angry yes, but evil?
Tristan pursed Feofil's lips and took in a deep breath. It calmed him somewhat, and allowed Feofil to seem disappointed, or at least something of that ilk. Ellis Danton was extremely lucky that Tristan Cowell had reason to keep the idiot boy alive. Ellis Danton was lucky that Tristan knew it was not from his own mind that Ellis had invented these disgustingly incorrect thoughts. They had come from someone as equally disgusting, someone by the name of Pelagia Xista.
"Ellis..." Feofil sighed, shaking his head, and resting his elbows upon his knees like a father talking down to a misbehaving son, "We all believed, and some still do, that Aurcaele's purpose in Atton is to repeat the enslavement, abuse and conversion of non-Aurcaele people, as they did to the Kina thousands of years ago. So I must ask you: Is this your purpose here? To convert Xanthe to worshiping your mother of life, and to force her people to serve the wills of your Ayniea, and your Queen?"
Post by Ellis Danton on May 17, 2018 10:34:42 GMT -7
Feofil was so... Disappointed in him. Ellis felt panicked at the thought, and then felt movement. He looked down to see that his left leg had begun bobbing nervously, the sole outlet for his restless nerves. He bit his lip and forced the leg down as best he could (not quite well enough), and then raised his eyes to once again feel scolded by the man whose kindness had dissipated with their privacy.
Feofil, who Ellis had come to respect so deeply, told him about what other countries thought Aurcaele was doing in Atton. Enslavement, abuse, conversion-- he claimed that Aurcaele had done something like that before, with Kina, but Ellis had never learned or heard anything of the sort. His gut reaction was to assume it a lie, something that Eleusia had spread so far and wide that even Feofil believed it. Then, he second-guessed himself. He met eyes with the other man, and saw there a conviction that was almost convincing.
He wasn't wrong, of course. He wasn't right, either.
The Jaosi S'na was proof to Ellis that whatever Goddess ruled over Atton was connected to Ayniea. The connection that he felt to Xanthe only strengthened that belief in his heart, even if Xanthe had been angry about Ellis swearing himself to Pelagia, and by extension, Ayniea. Xanthe just did not realize they were the same. She was too focused on her people, and the differences between him and her. Ellis was not here to convert anyone... But instead, to join them together. He believed, wholeheartedly, that Ayniea was as powerful here as she was back home. He believed that whatever Goddess the Attonja worshiped, it was the same as his.
This was why he could not quite tell Feofil no. Not in so few words. "W-we aren't here t-t-to ffforce anyone... We wouldn't... We would n-never--" Ellis stopped himself as he thought about what Feofil said, about the Kina, "W-we want p-p-peace. Ayniea w-wants peace."
Post by Tristan Cowell on May 20, 2018 10:21:20 GMT -7
[attr="class","tcowell"]
[attr="class","tcowell2"]
[attr="class","tcowell3"]REFLECTIONS ON THE MOON
[attr="class","tcowell4"]OF A HEART TORN IN TWO
[attr="class","tcowell5"] It was apparent that Tristan had struck a nerve. Ellis began to shake, no longer just his voice tremoring, but his entire self. This was the man who had brought peace to Pelagia's feet? This pitiful boy had somehow convinced Xista to change her ways? It would be embarrassing if true, but Tristan had a sense in him that it wasn't. There was something in the man that gave Tristan the sense of a liar, or at least an ignorant monkey, and he certainly knew Pelagia was no peacemonger. There was an ulterior motive, as there always was.
"Fiorre desires peace, as does Veira. As Streike desires fairness, Ayniea breaks the rules. She advocates an avoidance of ending. She is your Goddess, and I mean no disrespect in saying these things... I would not be alive were it not for her power, of course. Yet there is more to life than living. It is not wise to speak for our Godesses, Ellis. Not wise for you, nor for even the Queen of Aurcaele. We are not a mouthpiece of the eternal, but cogs in the machine of their great plans," Yes, that was what the fool Feofil might say. He was a devout worshipper of Fayana, was he not? A believer in fate determining the outcome of all things. It was the reason it had taken a trembling manchild and a conniving aasimar villain to finally entreat peace in Atton.
Tristan sighed then, Feofil sighing as well, and he stood. "I fear my conclusions about you may have been misplaced, Ellis," Tristan tainted Feofil's words with sadness, "I had dearly hoped that... I thought, perhaps, with the way you aided Xanthe, that you were able to question the knowledge you have been taught. I see instead you remain a fool. ...I should return to the fort."
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