forum The Secrets of Emberhaven // OxO // Closed

Started May 04, 2020 by @PaperHats business

tune

Ravenspire, a gorgeous little town known for its encapsulating architecture and ancient legends. Located on the quiet shores of Emberhaven, it looks like a majestic painting. The people are wonderful and the lush forests around the town bustle with wildlife.
Although, the city cannot be that perfect, hmm? Nothing can.
You see, I myself am a fan of mystery. Which is why I decided to write these journals. These… tales in which I will be conveying to you the underlying secrets of Ravenspire, and even Emberhaven itself!
Sound intriguing? I know.
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Mathias Taumoor Oskig. Or, just Oskig. I’m an owlfolk from the far off land of Hivenpost, on the far eastern edge of Kahari’s Landing. But, enough names. I assure you I’ll get to the point.
I’m a writer. Musician. Journalist. Adventurer. I’m looking for a partner to uncover these ghastly secrets.
If you’re interested, meet me at the abandoned lodge just west of Ravenspire. Left of the river but right of the marked path.
That is where the journey begins.
So, fellow adventurer…

Care to join me?

That’s the basic storyline! This whole thing is barely fleshed out, so don’t be afraid to bring your creativity! This rp is as much yours as it is mine :)

Rules:

• No controlling the other’s character, through actions, dialogue, etc.
• Keep swearing to a minimum, but if it’s appropriate, go right ahead.
• Fantasy races are alright, even if it’s creative! The more unusual, the better!
• Can be a romance if you’d like
• Have fun! It may sound like a serious plot (somewhat) but toy with it. However, make sure to be serious when the situation requires it.

Ask to join and I’ll possibly ask for a writing sample if I haven’t rped with you before, but I’m likely to say yes. I’ll post the template once you’re accepted :)

(Any of the unmarked sections you can leave tbd!)

^Full Name:
Aliases: (What others call them)
^Age:
^Race:
Quick Race Background: (only if it’s made up or there’s something you’d like to add. You can make up your own deities as well)
Occupation(s)/Job(s):
^Physical Desc: (Links okay, but please describe them too. Shorter desc if links are provided, but otherwise please be semi-thorough)
Apparel/Gear:
^Personality:
^Habits/Mannerisms:
^Hobbies:
Backstory:

(Also, this story is set in medieval/fantasy times. Aka wagons and carriages as transportation, very little roads, mostly forest, pathways, lodges, etc. That involves slightly under-developed vocabulary and outdated slang, but I’m sure you know that lol)

Full Name: Mathias Taumoor Oskig
Aliases: Oskig / “The One Who Wanders”
Age: 25
Race: Owlfolk
Quick Race Background: The owlfolk are generally considered the direct “children of Kahari,” devoting much of their time to serving her in all her true splendor. Kahari is the goddess of the night sky and duel moons, reigning in the violent tides at Kahari’s Landing. The owlfolk normally build houses atop trees, and if not, they have large baseboards that keep them elevated. Truly for aesthetic purposes, because the owlfolk lost the ability to fly long ago. It’s purely for the feeling of being among the trees.
Occupation(s)/Job(s): Adventurer / Journalist / Musician
Physical Desc: Quite handsome-looking for an owlfolk. He has a pristine navy crest with two uniform feather protrusions on either side, like that of an elegant Bubo owl. His markings, on the other hand, are quite different. Instead of the black splotchy markings, he has uniform dark blue feathering, with white down around his face. His eyes are a beautiful deep umber, however the left one is slightly clouded.
His body is much different than that of a normal owl. Feathers coat up to the tips of his talons on both “hands” and “feet.” His legs are like those of a bird as well, elevated ankles, however they are lower than most and evolved to help them walk. No wings, however the owlfolk tend to have longer back feathers curling down into a tail that pokes out from under the backs of their shirts. Oskig’s does, the navy blue fading to a shimmering black.
Apparel/Gear: Many clothes tailored to fit owlfolk and owlfolk only. Boots and arm bands especially, fitting the fingers perfectly but letting the tips of the talons peek though. It can be uncomfortable otherwise. He normally wears just other standard garb, such as a tunic and greaves. He tends to carry packs around his waist as well as a lute across his back. He keeps multiple coal pencils in the packs as well as various scrolls and sheets of music.
Personality: Can be quite the romantic person. He lives for adventure and will likely step head-on into danger, because it “poses a wonderful challenge, no?” He loves the thrill of mystery, but many mistake him as crazy or reckless. In reality, that’s exactly what he is.
Habits/Mannerisms: He always carries himself high and speaks eloquently for his time. Instead of walking he sort of saunters or strides, like he is above whomever he comes across. However, when he speaks, the target feels just as empowered as he, for his deep voice is trustworthy, sweet, and melodic.
Hobbies: Playing the lute / writing / exploring / inspiring others
Backstory: Abandoned at a young age to live with a family friend, Oskig learned to be independent early on. He never learned the truth behind his parents disappearance, and many people in his home town don’t seem to recall the situation either. Oskig explored much of his old continent Hivenpost, but found Emberhaven much more intriguing, and set off. With eight years of living on the continent under his belt, he decided to dig deeper into it’s secretive past.

(Sorry this is a f a t template and I wrote w a y too much! You certainly don’t have to write as much, I just had too much fun with his character)

Full Name: Tonnak Evea Lepari
Age: 23
Race: Ikaerah
Quick Race Background: The Ikaerah are a species said to be both blessed and cursed by the fire God, Paelino, and the nature Goddess, Umirah. When the two Gods made peace with one another, it is said that a new species was born as a symbol of their unity. After a few years, the Gods waged war against one another again, and the Ikaerah were divided between those who had more of Paelino's blood, and those who were closer to Umirah. Only during the Festival of Life, do the two denominations converge peacefully with each other to worship both Gods for giving them life.
Occupation(s)/Job(s): Writer / Artist
Physical Desc: Tonnak's hair is a little shorter—sits just to her shoulder, and her eyes are more of an amber shade. She's roughly 5'6, and 11 stone (and even though most of her weight is in muscle, she's not actually that strong). If she chooses to wear makeup, it consists of lighter shades of blue so as to make her eyes stand out more. On her neck, arms and legs, which she always keeps covered, are amber scales.
Apparel/Gear: Clothing, she carries around a fairly large bag that contains sticks of charcoal, hand-stitched journals and glass bottles filled with different liquids. The bag also contains a pouch of money that she has both earned and stolen from people.
Personality: Tonnak is a quiet creature who likes helping others and making sure the less fortunate are cared for. She's often the Romantic (as in the poetry kind), and can often be seen as deluded in her artistic ways. However she is always prepared to fight if someone is threatening the safety of an innocent soul, she will never start a fight unnecessarily.
Habits/Mannerisms: She twists the ends of her tunic when she's thinking, the tighter her grip the deeper in thought she is. When she's thinking too hard she tends to block out everything around her and could quite easily fall off a cliff if someone doesn't snap her out of it.
Hobbies: Dancing / Climbing trees
Backstory: TBD

(Is she okay?)

The gentle padding of the leather boots on the newly fallen pine needles was nothing compared to the quite loud chirps of the birds. They were happy today, whistling out calm and rhythmic melodies, the sweet sounds beautifully intertwined with the babbling river.
Oskig took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a brief moment before opening them once more to keep his sight on the faulty trail before him. An outcropping was prominent along the left side, like another trail broke off down, following the sounds of the quite loud water. He stepped gracefully down it, a smile upon his face as the cold air grasped the skin beneath his feathers. However, the morning cold was always enjoyable for him. For the heat of the sun was never a thing he liked, but the light it brought was certainly beautiful.
Slowly he made his way to the shore, carefully walking across a thin log to the other side. Thankfully, his talons were perfect for the feat, the claws sinking into the damp wood and providing ample balance.
He swiftly bounded from the log, the beautiful spring greens of the forest complimenting the dark sienna lodge laid before him. The door had fallen from its hinges years ago, leaving quite the large gap to walk through. Not only that, half of the house’s elevation was thrown, the base of it deteriorating greatly on one side. It was at a mean tilt, but gave many animals shelter. A small bird had a nest overhead in the leaning ceiling boards, as well as a few squirrels rummaging through an abandoned bookshelf. The books were still there, some looking actually newer than most. But this was nothing new to Oskig— for those books were ones he either brought or rehabilitated. He liked books about as much as he loved this house, and the combination was beautifully perfect. He had spent much time here.
Sitting down among the eroded chair he had built himself from torn ragged fabric and a few boards, he took the lute from his back and began strumming. An ear for music, and possibly the most exquisite one— an owl’s ear is remarkable for hearing tunes— helped him pick up the surrounding birds’ melody, and he continued to strum a sweet song for his friends among the treetops. The squirrels, however, payed no mind, going back to their business as usual.
As he strummed, he watched the bird overhead in the damp rafters.
“Beautiful day, is it not?” he asked joyfully, his voice almost juvenile. “I wonder if any adventurers have received my note. Do you believe so?”
Just as he had expected, the bird ceased to reply. However that did not dim his spirits whatsoever, as he closed his eyes once more and whistled along to his own tune.

The morning sun had brought some level of joy to Tonnak, she always loved the feeling of the warm rays fluttering against her skin in the morning. The moment she recognised that the dawn was upon them, she leapt out of bed and scrambled to get her clothes on.

Writing waited for no-one, and she wanted to get this story written sooner rather than later. Her current project revolved around a quite village girl who decided to run away from home one day in search of adventure. Along the way she met a group of bandits who told her about a legend involving the village she was from, and from that moment onward she set herself the task of uncovering the truth behind the legend with the help of the bandits. As time went on she slowly started to fall in love with the leader of the bandits, and at the end of the story they left together to find more adventure in other places. Something was missing from the story though, it lacked a sense of depth, a sense of reality. Since Tonnak herself had never left Ravenspire, she didn't have the experience in order to really bring life to the situation her main character found herself in.
Tonnak let out a soft groan, slumping her head down on her desk, knocking some of her idea scrolls onto the floor in the process. That was it, she was running out of ideas. What this called for was a trip to the library for some inspiration!

The Ikaerah grabbed her satchel and swung out of her house, shouting a quick hello and goodbye to her parents.
The library wasn't too grand of a building, one might even question its legitimacy of being a library, but Tonnak's eyes were always filled with wonder every time she walked through the doors.
"Ah, hello again Tonnak." The Librarian called softly from his desk. He was a petite fellow with a crooked nose and ageing grey hair in tufts at the top and sides of his head. He wore a pair of dark brown trousers and matching waistcoat, a creamy shirt, pointed black shoes, and a pair of rectangular spectacles that hung on a chain around his neck. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit today?"
"I'm needing some inspiration, I've got that block again in me 'ed." Tonnak smiled politely to the Librarian, knowing that he would have just the thing to get her cogs working again. no sooner had she finished explaining her problem, the goblin jumped from his chair and waddled over to a nearby shelf. He grabbed a thick from the shelf and held it towards Tonnak. Just as she was about to take it, something slipped from the pages and onto the floor. A note?
She picked it up, a frown knitting her eyebrows together while she read it.
The frown soon turned into a look of pure amazement. This could be the exact thing she was looking for in order to bring her story to life!
"You have my thanks, Mister Nook, you always have the answers!" Without another word, she waved goodbye to Mister Nook and ran out of the library, leaving the goblin in a state of pure amazement.

The lodge must have been around here somewhere… Aha!
Not too far away, Tonnak could see the abandoned lodge from the message, just nestled near the trees. Call her an idiot for following the instructions of a random note, but at this point she was willing to do whatever it took just to try and spark some inspiration for her story.

With the passionate whistling and picking of his stringed instrument, Oskig had drifted off into one of his well-known imaginative fantasies. He got lost entirely in the music, the birds just adding to his ever-changing melody.

A lute hadn’t been his first choice, however the shrill sound of the reverberating strings made him smile nonetheless. He had always been a fan of the strings— however, wanting a harp or even ocarina before the lute. Though, the lute was the only thing he could find in the small music outpost at the market in Ak’ta, the large city miles north of Ravenspire. He hadn’t taken the trip in a long time, since he hopped the wagon to Ravenspire during the last winter solstice. He had spent roughly a year in the dregs of Ak’ta, although with a high city such as that, the dregs were parts even the middlefolk dreamed of. Knowing the owner of a local inn, Oskig had no trouble staying there despite the expenses. In addition to knowing the inn and tavern keeper, he knew of the local musician, who offered the lute at a low price. Unable to afford the others he had his sienna eyes fixed on, he took the lute.

The same one he held in his talons, strumming with expertise. He wasn’t opposed to the idea in the first place, although a harp seemed much easier to play with claws such as his. Sometimes he wished to be human. How easy it would be to pluck strings with a nimble five-fingered hand.
Though Oskig wasn’t the type to complain. He just continued his song with joy, eyes wandering around the eroded lodge as his melody rose and fell. The soulful whistling had drawn animals of all sorts, although Oskig was sure if he made one sudden move they’d retreat back to their homes.

It wasn’t until that he heard the shuffle of fallen pine needles that his melody faltered. He strummed the song to a close, the whistle fading as he set the lute aside. It seemed as though he had company.

Tonnak made her way out of the thickets to find the set location in front of her, just like the letter had said. Wow, she hadn't expected a place like this to have been out here and in such good condition. Still, it was rather suspicious that a complete stranger had written a note asking for someone to meet them– Tonnak didn't know whether this was genuine or a trap, so she kept her eyes peeled for any sign that it could have been a kidnapping.

She approached the lodge with caution, gently running her hands over the oak walls. Her sleeve got caught on a nail and accidentally revealed the scales on her arms before she managed to free herself. Thank the gods no one had seen her or else she would have had a few question to answer to for sure. The Ikaerah tried to peep through one of the windows, but they were a little too dirty–and the room on the other side was a little too dark–for her to be able to make out if anything or anyone was in there. Surely someone must have been waiting here, if not close by at least, there was no way she had arrived before the sender of the note. With a gentle sigh, she sat on the doorstep and waited patiently for someone to arrive; hopefully the person who arrived wouldn't be a serial killer.