forum The Golden Child of Eretien // O/O // Closed

Started January 15, 2022 by @MarDeColores this is not it kids

tune

Eretien was the city of gods. The city of magic. It was prosperous, successful, and, unbeknownst to everyone except for a small group of mostly invisible witches and wizards, alive. Only there was a threat to it, one that lay far below the cobbled streets and shining university. The city of Eretien was dying. And it seemed only Garnet knew. Well, Garnet and all his various adopted grandparents. But seeing that they were the mostly invisible witches and wizards, they couldn't really do much about it. Garnet could. At least, he could if the so-called Golden Child of Eretien stopped getting in his way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Should I be starting another rp? No. Will I be? Yes. Is it because I have an absolutely ridiculous setting that I need to do something with or I will combust? …Yes.

Anyway, this is just a really fun rp/loosely guided tour through the city of Eretien, where we will hopefully meet at least one of the gods I've advertised (if we didn't, that would be a little awkward, don't you think?). The basic plot (which can be modified, added on to, etc at any time by anyone) is that there's this guy named Garnet (my character) who can see and talk to a bunch of things that no one else can thanks to reasons which will be revealed at a later date, and he's trying to stop his city from dying. Enter Golden Child (your character) who is a magic student at the Academy and is also trying to figure out why the city is dying. They bump into each other one day, realize they have a goal in common, and decide to work together. Chaos ensues.

Rules 'n Stuff:

• The setting is as such: normal tech has just created the first car, and magic is used for almost everything else. It's kind of loose, so just go for it.
• There is magic, and there are two kinds: Modern Magic, which requires special stones and is quite strict on what you must do to cast a spell, and Old Magic, which involves drawing the magic out of nature or some other highly magical entity (like, say, a living city). Old Magic has all but died out, mostly because no one is living in the magical wilds anymore, and also no one knows that the city is alive.
• Your character will be using Modern Magic, the rules of which are up to you.
• This can be romance if you wish it to be. I'm cool with it either way. If it is romance, it will be mlm or nblm.
• If you have any suggestions and/or questions about the plot and/or setting, just let me know! I want this to be fun for both of us.
• This will be super chill, so replies don't have to be super quick. If you need to take a break or will be gone for a long period of time, just tell me. I will understand. :)
• Ask before you join! Thanks! :)

Wonderful! Do you have any questions before I post the template?

I think just about the technology? Is normal tech only used for transportation and magic is used for everything else? Or is it like, 1920s level tech with a magical twist?

Yeah, that second thing you said is pretty accurate! :)

Alright, nice! I believe that is my only question

(Cool! Here is the template! Feel free to add anything to it. :)
Full Name:
Nicknames:
Age:
Gender/Pronouns:
Sexuality:
Appearance:
Identifying Marks:
Personality:
Likes:
Dislikes:
Talents:
Magic Possessed:
Preferred Weapon:
Brief backstory:
Other:

Full Name: Garnet
Nicknames (if any): none
Age: 19 years old
Gender/Pronouns: Male, he/him
Sexuality: Queer. He hasn't really thought about it that much.
Appearance: 5'3" and very skinny. He's all angles and sharp edges. Light brown skin with dark freckles. Wavy, shoulder-length auburn hair. He usually keeps it down, though if he's doing that requires a lot of attention he'll pull it up in a little ponytail. Dark purple eyes. Usually wears a shirt, a worn jacket and pants, and boots that look like they're seconds away from disintegrating.
Identifying Marks: Very dark freckles all over his face, shoulders, and back. A birthmark in the shape of a tree on his left shoulder.
Personality: He's generally pretty chill. He knows what he knows and he's solid in that. He doesn't care what people think of him that much, though he always tries to let them know exactly who and what he is if they outright say something wrong. He's generally a very friendly person unless someone's done something to annoy him, in which case he'll be sarcastic. He doesn't enjoy being mean, and will only be aggressive if someone was aggressive to him first, and even then it will only happen if it's his last resort.
Likes: Talking to the old people, glass butterflies, summer, roaming the streets.
Dislikes: People calling him names, rain, the merchant sector, stealing things.
Talents: Pretty good at running. Has an absolutely amazing memory almost to the point of it being photographic. Amazing whistler.
Magic Possessed: He learned a lot of Old magic, such as how to make charms and brew potions and all that. He was also taught offensive spells, though he doesn't use them much because he doesn't really want to. His magic is controlled by gestures and whistles.
Preferred Weapon: Magic, if he has to fight someone.
Brief backstory: He was born as Graceson Luiza, the first-born of the Luiza family, the current ruling family of Eretien. Unfortunately for him, the political rival of Kellen, his father and the newest ruler of Eretien, was very bitter about losing and kidnapped him when he was less than a year old. The rival dumped him on the docks, thinking that he would die quickly. He did not, as a group of unseen wizards and witches known as the Gang of Greg found him. The leader, aptly named Greg, called a meeting of all the wizards and witches of Eretien to decide what to do with him, as they'd never had this problem before. After a lot of debating, it was decided that no one person would take care of him. Instead, they would all pitch in. Garnet grew up seeped in magic and as a result, was able to permanently see the wizards and witches, as well as talk to the glass butterflies that lived all around Eretien. It was a rather interesting childhood, but he turned out fine in the end.
Other: He can talk to glass butterflies, who generally tell him completely useless secrets. Only rarely will they actually say something useful. He's given them all names based on the colors of their wings.

Full Name: Emery Takahashi
Nicknames: Em, Emi
Age: 19
Gender/Pronouns: agender, they/them
Sexuality: ace panromantic
Appearance: https://pin.it/vKneNkA Emery has a slender, 5’3 frame
Identifying Marks: tends to carry a book or a notebook and pen with them at all times. Might also have a tissue in their nose or ear. There’s also a small scar on their shoulder
Personality: an idealist, calm and reserved but also has this nervous energy about them, passionate on the inside. Perpetually tired at the same time. Driven by their morality, and often drifts into deep thought. Pretty nerdy, and values their academic success. I imagine they hide many sides of themself though, as they have this mindset that nobody cares or that they have to be certain way for other people. Oh yeah, they’re also a people pleaser. Basically an extension of my gifted kid energy, y’know.
Likes: reading, alone time, coffee, Flint
Dislikes: making eye contact, social expectations, being cornered, bitter tea
Talents: drawing, high spatial awareness, high reading ability and comprehension
Magic Possessed: their blood is magical and can be used as a shortcut in many spells. Emery tends to use it to enchant objects and for other types of spells, but they can also manipulate it directly (like with blood bending). This takes more energy though, and the more blood Emery uses, the more they are physically drained.
Preferred Weapon: their fists and feet
Brief backstory: Emery was born and raised in a prostitution house. Initially their mother raised them to become a prostitute like her, but Emery soon began showing an interest in education and learning, and she knew that Emery would not be following in their mother’s footsteps. Additionally, their magic also began to show itself when they were fairly young. Unfortunately, she had no way to send them to any school or institution to develop their abilities. Emery stayed and did various chores in the prostitution house. Despite their mother’s precautions and attempts to keep them safe, when they were about nine years old, they were molested by one of the house’s clients. The client did this for about two days before he was caught, but it still left Emery very scarred. After that, their mother tried very hard to get them out of the house so as to keep them safe from being hurt again. After about a year, another one of the house’s clients offered to take them into his home. This client happened to be quite wealthy and distinguished, and after thinking on it, their mother sent Emery with him. Perhaps due to their past trauma, Emery never saw this man as any sort of father figure, merely a benefactor that had the money and generosity to send them to the Academy. It took and is still taking Emery a long time to completely trust him. Occasionally he would bring them back to the prostitution house to visit their mother, but after they began attending the Academy they saw their mother less often. At the Academy, they poured themselves into their academic life. They were able to develop their gifts, and became so gifted that this title of Golden Child began to float around them. The myth that Emery was originally noble-born and that their benefactor was their biological father also began to surface, but they didn’t do anything to debunk it. That myth was honestly a nice delusion to believe in on some occasions, but also fed into a really bad case of imposter syndrome.
Emery’s investigation into the true nature of Eretien really came about as a escapist coping mechanism. They noticed all these strange details and patterns in various artifacts and books that no one else did, and it was really interesting, and no one else cared. It was something they could do just for themselves, even if it didn’t really lead to anything. Well, shocker, their meddling and research actually did lead to something. Welp.
Other: their nose and ears tend to bleed occasionally, more often than a normal person. They also have a pet falcon named Flint

The docks were very busy, as they usually were. Garnet pushed through crowds of sailors, fishermen, and merchants, frantically looking for a familiar group of colorfully-robed people. Although he'd usually be content with meandering through the crowds, he'd just received the worst news from Old Mabel, a wizard who liked to lurk along Tillian Street. He needed to talk to Greg immediately. Garnet jumped on top of a stack of crates, peering around the crowd. A flash of bright red cloth caught his attention, disappearing into a crowd on his left side.
"Hey!" Garnet lept off the crate and plunged back into the crowd, following after the red cloth. "Damn it, Garret! Stop running away from me!" A group of fishermen gave him a weird look, but he ignored it.
"Oh, Garnet! Sorry, I thought you were the Great Eagle That Lives Just South of the Moon." Garret stopped running and turned to face Garnet. "What's up?"
"In what way do I look like a giant eagle?" Garnet sighed heavily. "And you know the only way to avoid it is to turn invisible."
"Yeah, I panicked," Garret sighed heavily, adjusting the pointy hat on his head.
"Anyway. Where's Greg? I looked in the usual spots but he wasn't there."
"He's over by The Rock. He's been arguing with it for weeks, you know. Recently came up with a couple of comebacks and went to tell it." Garret shrugged. "You know him."
"I do. Thanks, Garret. Good luck with the Great Eagle That Lives Just South of the Moon." Garnet gave the witch a smile, then turned. It was unfortunate that Greg was all the way by The Rock. It was in the merchant sector, which he hated. Everyone acted so suspicious of him there.

Garnet slipped along the edge of the buildings, peering into the center of the roundabout. Cars swirled around, blocking most of his view of the center. A lull in the traffic revealed the fist-sized rock sitting in the center of the circle, along with a very short wizard with a long white beard shouting at said rock.
"Greg!" Garnet jumped into the rock, dodging around cars, and skidding to a stop right next to the rock. "Old Mabel said you knew something about the dying city?" He was shouting too, not because it was particularly loud, but because Greg was very intensely ignoring him. Several pedestrians gave him strange looks, probably because it looked like he was yelling to The Rock about the state of the city. "Greg!"

“Emery….”
The voice was faint. So faint that it didn’t seem real.
“Mx. Emery…”
Again? Okay, it had to be actually real. Emery struggled to focus on it, trying to figure out a way to respond.
“Wake up, please. You fell asleep.”
Asleep? Emery’s eyes shot open. A woman’s face was looking down at them, framed by gingery red hair. Simultaneously panicked and groggy, they attempted to sit up.
“P— professor! I, uh, sorry— I um…” their voice was gravelly from sleep, but the anxious tone underneath it was undeniable.
Professor Birdwhistle smiled warmly. “No need, it’s alright. It’s not the first time this has happened, as you can imagine. What’s all this?”
Emery looked around. They were sitting on a sofa, surrounded by books and scrolls. “Research,” they replied.
“Research?” The professor tilted her head. “I hope it’s for that one project of Professor Fleecy’s that everyone keeps talking about.”
“Ahh… no,” Emery said guiltily. “It’s… something personal.”
“Oh, I see.” She nodded knowingly. “Well, you should know the library’s about to close soon. It’s after hours.” She hefted the the carrier on her back, the small baby inside making its presence known with a small coo.
A small seed of dread planted itself inside of Emery. They had planned to visit Mr. Nakayama today. They had told him as such, and he must be expecting them. Had they really been asleep for that long? They covered their face with their hand, letting out a breath.
“Um, thanks, professor. I need to get going.”
“Of course, Mx. Emery.” Professor Birdwhistle watched as they gathered their things, stuffing some of the books in their bag. They stood up, and reached out to tap the baby on the nose. “How’s little Joel?”
“I think he woke up from a nap too,” she chuckled. “So he’s also sleepy. I’ll walk you out.”
“Alright. Thanks, professor.” They started forward, avoiding the librarian’s gaze as they passed.
Once they were out in the hallway, Emery thanked Professor Birdwhistle, then made their way out. They were probably late, but better late than never.

"Eh?" Greg finally turned towards Garnet with a rather annoyed look on his face. "Can't you see I'm busy?"
"I can see that, but I have something more important to talk with you about."
"More important than proving The Rock wrong?"
"Greg, it's a rock."
"It's a god!" Greg exclaimed, waving his finger at Garnet. "I thought I thought you better."
"It's only a god because it won't move from the intersection of Jellypot Avenue and Fairlane Road! Please, Greg, it's about the city."
"Oh." Greg paused, stroking his bread thoughtfully. "I'm guessing Old Mabel finally got ahold of you?"
"She did. She said you knew more." Garnet glanced back at the other side of the road, where a rather large crowd was forming. Apparently, people thought the height of entertainment was watching someone talk to what they thought was thin air.
"I do know more. Not enough, though." Greg sighed heavily. "It appeared so fast. Something rotten's going down."
"Right. Do you know anything I could do to figure this out?"
"Check the sewers. The mold gets real bad down there. I haven't gone all the way in for reasons, but I'll bet you 100 yi the answer's somewhere in there." Greg nodded, then turned his attention back to The Rock. Garnet was pretty sure he was done talking. At least he'd gotten something out of the wizard.
"Hey, madman!" Garnet turned towards the sound to see the crowd had doubled since the last time he'd looked at it. "Whatcha talkin' about? Them voices tellin' ya to kill someone?"
"What?" Garnet exclaimed, a look of shock forcing itself onto his face despite his best efforts. "Why in the world would I be talking to Greg about killing someone?" He asked, gesturing towards Greg. "We were talking about how to save the city!"
"Why do you have to save the city?" Another person called.
"Because it's dying!" Garnet called back, planting his hands on his hips.
"It can't be dying, it's not alive," someone else pointed out, looking like they'd just won the argument.
"But it is! You just don't know enough Old Magic to care about it!"
"Garnet, knock it off. You know there's no use in arguing with them," Greg yelled from over his shoulder. "Bah!"

Mr. Nakayama didn’t live in the merchant sector, but Emery would have to pass through there to get to his home quickly enough. They rode their bicycle down the edge of the road, carefully watching for pedestrians and cars. Eventually there came a block in the road. Though a little frustrated, they took the opportunity to send a message to their benefactor. Emery sniffed, reaching into their bag and pulling out a slip of paper. They were about to pull out a pencil as well, but they wiped their nose, sniffing again, and when their hand pulled away, they found a smear of blood.
Emery looked up. Traffic had started to move again, they quickly moved to the sidewalk and out of the way. How convenient. They used the blood to make a fingerprint on the piece of paper, then folded it into a paper airplane. Holding the airplane in the direction of Mr. Nakayama’s house, close to their mouth, they said, “Dear Mr. Nakayama, I’m afraid I’m running a little late, but I will join you soon. My apologies, Emery.”
The little airplane seemed to shimmer with a soft, pinkish light. Emery held back their arm, then threw it into the air. The airplane rose above the cars and eventually the tops of the buildings, on towards its destination. Quickly, Emery found a tissue, twisted it a little, then stuck it into their nose. Setting their hands on the bike handles, they pushed off into the street again. Somehow the tissue in their nose did not fly away.
The crowd was hard to ignore. Emery had passed this roundabout many times, and never had it been full of people like this, all seeming to look at a young man in the center. What was going on? They had heard of the local weirdo that lurked around here occasionally, but Emery didn’t think it was worth crowding together over.