forum No Mortal Road leads to Hell // OxO // Closed

Started February 08, 2022 by @ElderGod-Icefire

tune

No mortal road leads to hell.

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Souls don't get to the underworld on their own. All the mythologies agree on that much. There must always be a guardian, a caretaker, a god, someone in charge of it. Each story and civilization had different names for it. All were wrong.

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The underworld is run by a human. The Lord of Hell, chosen by the Sors. The Sors is difficult to describe; it is the home of the Lord, and also the receptacle for the magic that chooses the incumbent Lord. Lord is a gender-neutral title, used by both men and women and those in between or outside of. When the current Lord reaches retirement, the Sors chooses the incumbent Lord, who will be taken in by the current Lord and trained in the duties necessary to take care of the underworld.

Even the term "underworld" is a loose term; the "Underworld" is a different dimension, in a way, with various ways back to Earth…or elsewhere. Many of these "doorways" are open only to the current Lord and sometimes the incumbent. Anyone else would soon die when exposed to the energy and creatures of these other dimensions.

One of these is the Ager. Earth, the Sors, and the Ager are all closely tied, and while those of Earth cannot pass into the Sors without special abilities or tools, all it takes to get from the Ager into the Sors is a single doorway. The Ager is not a friendly place for the living; human souls often go there for their afterlife, but the living find it difficult to survive there, save for the Lord.

The Lord has many duties to fulfill, and when the Sors chooses the incumbent, there is no other option. If the incumbent dies or is killed…well, the underworld would crumble. So when an incumbent is found, they are protected by the Lord and the Sors as best as possible, so as to ensure that no incumbent is ever lost. It has only happened once, with disastrous results that nearly ended all the worlds.

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(Name) is a normal human living on Earth with their family. They have friends, family, and plans for their future that in no way involve other worlds or the underworld. However, they start to notice strange things happening around them. They see strange, faint mists hanging over graveyards, that no one else can see. They hear things, sometimes; very faint whispers that are gone as soon as they try to focus on them. Sometimes they even see things out of the corner of their eyes, that is gone as soon as they turn around.

One day, while out at the mall, they see two young men. Both are tall and fair-skinned. One has brown hair, and the other has hair as black as night. They meet the eyes of the brown haired one; the one with black hair is wearing dark sunglasses. He nods to them, and they get a strange feeling that creeps up their spine. They hurry to catch up with their friends/family that they had come with, trying to forget the two.

Only, they keep seeing the two, more and more. The black haired one always has sunglasses on, even inside. They begin to worry that they are being stalked, and consider filing a report with the police. But how can they, when they haven't interacted at all?

So they confront the two, coming up to them and demanding to know why they keep seeing them. The black haired one smirks, shrugs. The brunette sighs.

"My name is Dorian Pelor." he introduces himself, and as he talks, the more concerned they become.

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(Name) has been chosen by the Sors as the incumbent Lord of hell. The two young men are Dorian and Johnathan, and Dorian's father is the current Lord. Once they have proved to (Name) that they are serious about this, (Name) gets two weeks to pack and prepare, and then they will be taken to the Sors. They will be able to visit their family, who have been told that (Name) is in some sort of program for first year college students.

As (Name) learns more and more, the more curious they become. Johnathan is hiding secrets, and Dorian is too. Everyone is, here, and they keep telling (Name) that they will learn more when they're older. When they're wiser. When it's time.

But things are beginning to unravel. Things are going very wrong, and (Name) is determined to learn why.

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Hnnn basically mystery with some romance and magic and secrets?? idk. Anyways. You'll be (Name), and I'll be everyone else. (Name) can fall in love with either Dorian or Johnathan (or we can make it poly? Dorian and Johnathan do not see each other as brothers (they see each other as good friends) and they are not blood related, so it's not incest lmao) we'll see what happens. Idk. I hope this makes sense?

Rules:

• andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer)'s rules apply
• Three sentences per reply minimum, please
• No homophobia, racism, ableism, etc, during OOC stuff please
• Would prefer someone who is semi-active
• Any smut, if/when it happens, will go to PMs
• I reserve the right to say no

:) cool!

anyways, any questions or shall I get forms up?

Nah, I can't wait to make characters!

Great! I got some hw to finish and then I'll post them!

Cool, sounds good!

Name:
Nicknames:
Gender:
Sexuality:
Age: (between like,,, 19 and 23)
Looks:
Personality: (optional because I'm bad at them lmao)
Backstory: (optional)
Theme Song(s): (optional)
Other:

Name: Johnathan Marcus Ceterus
Nicknames: John
Gender: Cis man
Sexuality: Pan
Age: 22
Looks: (Kinda like this) John is tall, at 6'2", with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and a good amount of muscle. He has raven black hair, which is a bit shaggy and overgrown. Has crimson eyes that, when on Earth, are usually masked with either colored contacts or sunglasses. Has a scar on the left side of his mouth, and a faint one around his neck. Both ears are pierced, but he often only has one in. Tends to dress in your stereotypical "bad boy" style. Has a tattoo of a very simple, fantasy-esque door on his right hip, along with a half sleeve on his left forearm.
Personality: Tbh John is…a stereotypical bad boy. He really is. Also struggles with PTSD and potentially some other mental issues.
Backstory: Was taken in by Lord Torvin when he was 12. The rest is a secret ;)
Theme Song(s): "Could Have Been Me" by The Struts. "18" by Anarbor. "Play With Fire" by Sam Tinnesz and Yacht Money. "The Family Jewels" by MARINA
Other: ~

Name: Dorian James Pelor
Nicknames:
Gender: Cis man
Sexuality: Bi, with a slight preference for masc presenting people
Age: 21
Looks: (again, kinda like this) Dorian is 6' even, and isn't quite as broad-shouldered as John is. Instead, he's a bit slimmer and more rectangular, though he still has a good amount of muscle. He has warm brown hair with a slight wave to it, which is typically at least combed, though not usually styled. He has green eyes and pale skin. Like John, has both ears pierced, though he's more likely to wear both earrings at the same time. Has no tattoos, though he does have a few scars. Prefers more "regular" clothes, like jeans and so forth.
Personality: Where John has more of a temper, Dorian is definitely calmer and more thoughtful, with a much longer fuse. However, when he does lose his temper or patience, he can truly be terrifying (not violent though; neither one would get violent/abusive like that). Likes to read and draw, and spends a lot of time doing research in the Sors' library.
Backstory: Is the oldest son of the current Lord, Lord Torvin, and his wife, Lucia. Has one younger brother, Lukas, who is 7 (yes, it's a very large age gap).
Theme Song(s): "In My Blood" by Shawn Mendes. "Losing My Religion" by REM. "Little Talks" by Of Monsters and Men. "Hero" by Family of the Year. "Youth" by Daughter
Other: Has a few health issues

Name: Lilian Markus Graves-Sydney
Nicknames: Mostly goes by his middle name, do NOT call him "Mark"
Gender: Trans man (kinda, he was born intersex and that gives him the insecurity that he doesn't "fit" anywhere), he/him
Sexuality: Bisexual
Age: 21 and thank god for that because boy got some issues (as in he can legally drink)
Looks: (picrew: https://picrew.me/share?cd=jcjIx7qVn0 ) Markus is,,,, actually kinda a hottie, in a really tired overworked burnout kinda way like all sexy morticians are. He's shorter than most, standing at 5'0", and is pretty insecure about that but what ya gonna do? He isn't on T (yet) and doesn't really need to go on it but has gotten top surgery. Usually dyes his hair fun colors but ever since he took over the family business, he's kept it at its usual brownish blonde. Has sea-blue eyes, like that dark part of the sea though where it gets really deep and you can't see the bottom. Pale, with eye bags thiccer than Gucci.
Personality: Okay so basically he's an insecure little bitch that hates himself, with added daddy and mommy issues for a dead mom and a deadbeat dad. Falls into some really self destructive habits, will date people just for the attention only to break up with them when they have-gasp-lives and friends outside of him! so yeah a bit toxic too, but doesn't mean to hurt people and only really does stuff like that when he's in a really bad spiral. Doesn't have a lot of friends besides the ones he makes in dead bodies and the few he does have he is slowly losing.
Backstory: Markus was born intersex, which brought up a whole host of issues for a homophobic family living in New Orleans in the like,,, would it be 2000s at this point? Idk man COVID is shite. Anyways, brings up issues, they get him "fixed" as a girl but he isn't happy that way, his mother originally gave him both Markus and Lilian so he could choose but after she died at age 6, Markus' dad didn't really want him living as anything but a girl so he put him on hormones as soon as he was beginning to go through puberty and that the doctors would allow. That didn't really stop him from growing more bodily hair and other fun things, but whatever. Markus also got an irrational fear of dating from his father, one that he (sorta) rebelled against by unwise hookups and relationships meant to end in disaster, which only really fueled that fear of losing people. Then his dad died, he took over the Graves-Sydney mortician business, and has been wrecked ever since. And if shipping ends up being a thing, do not wait for him to become normal, I want to indulge in my projection of my own fears drama as much as I can.
Theme Song(s): My Alcoholic Friends by the Dresden Dolls, Bad Habit by the Dresden Dolls, Hermit The Frog by MARINA, Teen Idle by MARINA, End Of The Earth by MARINA, Karma by MARINA (damn boi you got a lot of MARINA songs on your playlist you okay??)
Other: Owns two ferrets, named Flotsam and Jetsam because Ursula LittleMermaid is his queen.

(btw I'm just starting with when he confronts John and Dorian, rather than doing the times he's noticed them)

Dorian was about ready to elbow John in the gut. He was staring again. Sure, they were both watching, but John was outright staring, as if the sunglasses could protect him from being noticed by this guy. It was ridiculous, really. He had tried to point out so many times that staring like that was counter productive, but John was ignoring him. Again. He was going to blow this whole thing. The incumbent wouldn't be willing to be talk to them, and then it would never work out. This was not going well.

John, for his part, didn't see the big deal Dorian was making out of this. In his opinion, they should just…confront the guy. Talk to him. Either he would believe them or he wouldn't. Either way, they would have made the attempt. He still didn't understand why the Sors had chosen this guy instead of Dorian. Dorian would have been the logical choice to follow in Torvin's footsteps, so the Sors not choosing him was absolutely ridiculous. But there was nothing they could do about it, so now here they were. Following a complete stranger around.

Markus meanwhile was at the mall, relaxing alone outside the build-a-bear, on a massage chair trying to ignore the world. He opened his eyes, and across the mall he saw them. Those two creepy guys that followed him everywhere, loitered outside the shop and scared off customers and overall gave him a massive headache. He groaned, slumped into his chair, and waited for the next two minutes that he’d paid for to pass, then got up and went to confront them. Markus didn’t usually like interacting with people and this was no different, but hey, if it would get the two off his back for a minute he’d enjoy it ever so much. He walked up to the two, and began to speak.

“Okay, who the hell are you, and what do you want so badly that you have to harass me to get it? I’ve called police, I’ve called friends, I’ve tried everything and yet you two never seem to fucking give up!”

Dorian glared at John as soon as he realized that Markus was coming over, then gave Markus a tight smile. "My name is Dorian Pelor." He introduced himself. That was the best place to start, right? "This is John Ceterus. And, ah…have you noticed anything strange, lately?"

"Other than Dorian and I." John interjected with a laugh, the side of his mouth pulling into a smirk. He was wearing sunglasses, again, too dark to see his eyes.

Dorian rolled his eyes. "Fine, yes, other than us." Both of them had the faintest of accents; almost English, in a way, but not quite. Whatever it was, they both had it, though Dorian's was a touch stronger.

Markus shook his head. "First of all, no, second of all, even if I had, would it be any of your goddamn business?" he asked, getting a tad too close to Dorian. Well, there was the time where he was called to a crime scene, not as any particular suspect, just because he was the best mortician in town when it came to identifying cause of death. He'd been left alone, and above the corpse he could see a crying person, who conveniently looked exactly like that corpse, and who had disappeared soon after. Or, after his mom died, he'd had weird dreams beyond the normal scope of weird for him. Or when a corpse he'd been fixing up for a funeral had stood up and attacked him, he'd needed to remove the organs with less of a gentle touch then-but none of those meant anything. He was probably hallucinating, there was a family history of schizophrenia after all and he did have some minor schizoaffective disorder that didn't give him hallucinations per se, but when he stepped on a crack and the next day his mother died, he wasn't about to do that to his father. Knock on wood, don't walk under ladders or pass cracked mirrors or interact with black cats, that sort of thing. But bad luck seemed to follow him anyways. "Okay, maybe some weird stuff has happened. But I'm probably just succumbing to the mental illness, most of my family is crazy one way or another."

(ooh yeah I like that!! John and Dorian competing for Markus's affection while simultaneously trying not to think about the fact that they're both attracted to each other?? sdljhagbdfj)

Dorian looked down at Markus, green eyes thoughtful as he considered the smaller man's words. "It's not mental illness. You're a mortician, yes?" it wasn't a question. Dorian knew what Markus did for a job. It just felt more polite to phrase it as a question. "You work with the dead." he realized after the words left his mouth that that was an odd way to phrase what a mortician did. It sounded more like a description of his father's job than Markus's, but then…wouldn't Markus be taking over? Or at least, Dorian hoped he would. If Markus refused…the Sors only picked one incumbent a generation. It would get messy. He ran his hands through his hair, leaving the soft waves sticking up faintly from the top of his head. "So does my father." he took another moment to consider what to say next. "Have you ever noticed anything strange around graveyards?" graveyards were where the veil between the Sors and Earth was thinnest; all those bodies, all those old souls wanting to cross back and forth. Once they were in the Sors, they were there for good, but it didn't stop them trying to poke at the lining between to get back through. You could see it, in graveyards, if you had just the right sight. Most humans couldn't see it. Dorian and John both could. Markus, as the incumbent, certainly could.

Markus sighed. "Look, you obviously have some big revelation I'm supposed to hear, I know how these things work." he said, looking more tired with this than he normally would be. "And no, I wouldn't. I stay away from graveyards. Bad luck." he said. There were too many bad things you could do, point at a graveyard and you'd either have your hand drop off or a spirit would latch onto you, pass an open grave and bad luck, a grave stays open overnight and the dead rise again, that sort of thing. He'd already had bad enough experiences in the morgue. Markus had no idea why he kept up with the job, but he did. "So what is it?"

John snorted. "Dorian's beating around the bush because he's trying to soften it for you." he said, blunt. "Congratulations, you've inherited the Lordship of the Underworld, effective as soon as your apprenticeship is over. Hail, Lord incumbent of the Sors." his voice was vaguely sarcastic in his final sentence, and his eyes, still hidden behind the sunglasses, were fixed on Dorian with a stare that made a lot of people very uneasy.

Dorian punched John's arm. "You absolute dick, I was trying not to scare him." he snapped, gaze flickering from John to Markus.