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Hey all! You know the rules, feel free to read along and enjoy the plot line (aka trauma), but don't post unless your name is in the title! |
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Name: Sage Acker Age: 20 years Gender: Male Appearance: Long and thick black hair that ends at around his waist (has a slight wave to it and is very much like the way a ravens wings shine when in the sun), normally done in an elaborate style. His eyes are a striking olive green color, and his skin is a dark tan. He has some scars on his back from various punishments from his time serving various people, as well as a scar on his right cheek from a dagger years ago. He has various tattoos as well (the most noticeable ones are a dragon behind his left ear and a tribal sort of tattoo sleeve on his right arm), along with plenty of piercings (mainly his ears, but he does have a lip ring in the center of his lower lip as well). His build is slim but athletic, and while he's fairly short (about 5’3”) he can hold his own in a fight (in fact he was one of the best fighters in terms of hand to hand combat their military unit had for years). His ears end in the pointed tips of the sea nymphs, courtesy of his mother (his father was human, his mother a nymph from the sea by the island there Sage hails from). This nymph nature also gives him almost ethereal features: sharp, and striking, with both a delicate and smooth but powerful and strong movement of his body that is natural to him. As for clothing, he's dressed up to the royal couples likings - rather skimpy robes which are little more than a type of split skirt connected with lots of little chains and jewelry/armor bits when performing. His outfit also had chains and jewelry, with small plates along his shoulders. He also wears a sort of veil, constructed from a chain resting on the bridge of his nose, with a sheer material hanging off it. Normally around the castle, he's barefoot. He normally also has other jewelry, including a small choker necklace that's metal and also is partly used as a collar. This definitely isn't what he'd prefer to be wearing, but his costumes are provided by the king and queen, as well as the occasional noble, so during performances that's what is required. Personality: Sage is pretty cautious/untrusting, and outwardly he shows the traits drilled into him by his captors - he is quiet, and keeps his head down, though when performing he puts on a bolder front, since that's what most of the people enjoy watching. He doesn't really fight back any more, since being submissive has normally gotten him better responses than otherwise. After years of forced servitude, he resembles a typical well trained servant, broken and willing to do as asked. Once he's free of those burdens, though, he does have a sense of humor and tends to be sarcastic. He's fairly quick to anger, though over the years he's learned to control his temper well and keep a good poker face and fake a smile and a flirt. At heart, he is a fighter - stubborn, sarcastic, and the more you beat him down the harder he'll fight back ...until he can't anymore. He is extremely loyal, so once someone earns his trust, he becomes quite attached, and is loyal even up to the point of self sacrifice. Backstory: Sage was sold into the military by his father when he was quite young. He was glad to rid of the man, since he was always drunk and angry, and some of the scars on his back come from his belt. Things weren't any better in the people he was sold to, however, as his new job wasn't exactly pleasant. He quickly became accustomed to the battle field and to death, leaving him with a not so great mentality of just not caring about who lived or who died. They all die eventually, after all. Maybe those who go early just see less pain. But part of him also learned to love it - the rush, the adrenaline of a fight, the feeling of overcoming obstacles in front of him (even if they were human beings). Eventually, though, he did get captured. The war was over, and unfortunately for Sage, he was on the losing side. Due to his good looks and powerful but graceful body, he was brought to the palace, assigned to entertain guest and the royal family and nobles in the throne room and around the castle by singing, dancing, playing instruments, and various other things. He hasn't stepped foot outside the castle since he arrived, as he is heavily monitored and a close eye is kept on him. |
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Name; Peregrine Mankiller, prince of Ania Age; 23 years old Gender; cis male, he/him Appearance; Standing just short of six feet, Peregrine has a tall, lithe frame built far more for speed and agility than strength. He has warm brown skin and a few stray freckles across his shoulders and the bridge of his hooked nose. His eyes are large and upturned, an almost shocking bright yellow in color and almost always rimmed in the heavy, black, bird like face paint associated with his noble status. One of his most notable features, however, is his hair. Peregrine has thick hair that falls to his mid back; most of it a dark, ashy grey, but a considerable amount of it highlighted in various shades of brown and cream. While he typically wears his hair down, it's not unusual to see him with feathers tied into small braids in his hair. His clothing is usually typical of his station- clean, well maintained, expensive fabrics, heavy and formal. Unlike his royal cohorts, however, Peregrine has abandoned typical stylish royal footwear for worn leather boots that usually have more than a little bit of dirt still on them. Personality; To be perfectly clear: just because Peregrine chooses not to drink doesn't mean he's no fun. That's a different choice. Which he has also made. Peregrine is intelligent and quick thinking. He's diplomatic, patient, and seemingly emotionless. Which isn't true, per se- it's just that years of political upheaval in Ania has made it much easier to just. Pretend he doesn't have any of those pesky feelings. Peregrine is ambitious, but not overly so. He's the type of ambitious where he knows what needs to be done and he doesn't necessarily WANT to do it, but nobody else is going to, so it might as well be him. Which is to say that Peregrine has absolutely no desire to be king- but if his mother is going to die and none of his older siblings are going to do the job right, he'll take one for the team. Given the choice, though, Peregrine isn't actually unhappy with his current lot in life- leading the royal hunting party. Largely hailed as the kingdom's best hunter, Peregrine is fast on horseback, faster on his feet, and a deadly shot with a bow and arrow. He's a skilled survivalist, forager, and herbalist as well. And Peregrine isn't entirely humorless- it's just that his personal sense of humor is often incredibly flat and dry. Backstory: Being the fourth oldest of a comically large number of siblings, Peregrine is technically not in line to inherit any real power in the kingdom. Unlessssssss. Having grown up in Avalon, Ania's capital city, Peregrine spent most of his childhood being tutored within the palace walls. He became enamored with hunting at a young age, being taken along with one of his fathers, Mauritius, on many, many royal progresses and hunting trips. The kingdom of Ania has always been almost Napoleonic in nature- Queen Phillipine had poured the kingdom's resources into conquering nearby lands, often overlooking the maintainence of the land she already holds in the process. War and what comes with it are nothing new to Peregrine, although he tries to remove himself from the equation. As an adult, he often leads hunting parties himself that take him away from the kingdom for weeks or even months at a time. With Queen Phillipine ill and on her death bed, the recent death of Jaggar; the kingdom's original heir, and now Kestrel in line to take the throne, it's always kind of a fun surprise for Peregrine when he returns home with one of his hunting parties and the entire kingdom hasn't burned to the ground. |
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The kingdom; given the reach of the empire's borders, it's truly hard to describe the kingdom of Ania in one way. Built on the deeply questionable principal of conquering as much land as possible and worrying about the rest later, Ania is a truly massive place inhabited by a wide variety of different people, cultures, and ideas. One thing remains strong throughout, though, and it's the kingdom's heavy military presence. Ania is a kingdom known to be ruthless in battle and to pick battles like they're smoking cigarettes- often and with increased frequency and urgency. Avalon; the capital city of Ania, Avalon is located high in the mountains, hidden neatly between huge granite peaks and only able to be entered or exited through one road on the side of the mountain, which remains heavily guarded at all times. Being so high in elevation, the city can experience some extreme weather, which has lead to its rather unique architecture- massive stone buildings made of granite from the surrounding cliffs with huge, spiraling towers that overlook the city and are supported by their own width at the base, creating an effect like large stalagmites. Despite the seemingly monotone grey of the buildings, the city is decorated colorfully- banners and streamers hanging across alleys, stained glass windows, even the clothing of the working class is colorful and heavily decorated with things reflective of the natural world around them- leaves, pinecone, feathers, furs, beetle shells, and even things like moss, rocks, and twigs, make frequent appearances as decoration on the clothing of the people living there. The nobility is often set apart by wearing darker, more severe colors and dark face paint- heavy black around the eyes and streaked down the nose in the same pattern as the markings of many predatory birds. Queen Phillipine Mankiller; one of the five kings and queens of the court, along with her two husbands and two wives, Phillipine Mankiller is a short, squat, and extremely powerful woman. She has dark skin and cropped grey hair, and the same bright yellow eyes as Peregrine. Phillipine is a severe and stoic woman who knows exactly what she is after and takes it- or she would be, if she hadn't become so ill over the last few years. Despite innumerable doctors visits, there is still no definitive answer about what is wrong with Phillipine, and her condition has gotten significantly worse as of recently, spurring Peregrine's early return from his current hunting trip. Jaggar Mankiller; the original heir apparent to Phillipine's throne, Jaggar was- okay, actually. Not the best. But not the conquerer that Phillipine was. More aware of the kingdom's growing problems with things like food shortages, rampant illness, and wealth inequality outside of just the city of Avalon. Nowhere near perfect, but they weren't the worst heir to have. Jaggar's death was sudden and unexpected- they were simply found dead in their bed one morning with no apparent cause. Their death has been particularly difficult for Queen Phillipine, who is not shy at all about playing favorites. Kestrel Mankiller; the second oldest (by five minutes) of the many, many Mankiller children, as well as Saker's twin, Kestrel is now the one sitting in line to inherit the throne and is, in Peregrine's personal opinion, a little bit too happy about it. A little bit too comfortable with Jaggar's death. As Phillipine's illness has progressed, Kestrel has already moved in to take power and in a short time has proven that if Queen Phillipine was a conquerer- Kestrel is a warmonger. Kestrel acts without any consideration as to who might be affected in the long run. He doesn't burn bridges, he torches them. He kills without mercy, causes damage beyond repair, and, in Peregrine's eyes, poses a significant risk to the wellbeing of the kingdom as a whole. Unfortunately, Kestrel and Saker are each other's ride or die and there's not really much that can be done to stop them outside of killing them. Or at least killing Kestrel, since he's five minutes older. But that would just leave Saker in line for the throne, and, well- Saker Mankiller; the third oldest (by five minutes) and Kestrel's twin sister, Saker Mankiller is currently in line to inherit the title of Military Commander and she is, for lack of a more elegant way to put it, out for blood. Kestrel and Saker have been almost inseparable their entire lives and they share the same vision for Ania- expanding the borders regardless of the human cost, taking whatever and whoever they want and not caring what happens to what and who they leave behind. And. Look. Peregrine. He really does not want to do this. He does not want to get his hands dirty like this. But his mom is dying and like. If THESE are the options for her succession? Look. Hear him out on this- |
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Sunny
