Post by Adam on Jul 22, 2009 13:27:35 GMT -5
I have an unusual idea for Wraithsight's rulebook. I'd quite like to tell it all from the viewpoint of one particular character.
This man is Simon Julius Boreus, by day a courtly gentleman inhabiting one of the Arcane Realm's most affluent and splendous cities, by night the unseen, unknown wraithseer spoken of in hushed tones as the Auroran. Simon's parents, like a lot of the nobility, still held a slight grudge against the Arcanum. Even though it's several hundred years since the old kingdoms were unified under the rule of the seers, noble families have long memories. As such, when Simon's powers began to surface, his parents forbade him from practising with them or learning how to use them, partly out of resentment towards the political system and partly out of fear of losing their child.
Unlike his sisters however, who loved the high-class lifestyle, Simon was a street-child at heart. Having many times snuck out of the house in the evenings to climb buildings, play one-sided hide-and-seek with the night-watchmen, or cause mischief with the other children, Simon already knew how to be secretive.
Self-taught wraithsight is not recommended. Simon was lucky in two ways. Firstly, he only got one or two chances to experiment on his own, neither of which resulted in much damage - either to himself or his surroundings. Secondly, the first seer to find him was neither an Arcanus nor malevolent. It was a young woman, named Leandra. Another high-class runaway, Leandra answered to nobody, and lived by herself in an abandoned library, using her talents to steal food and money. Despite an eight-year age gap, they bonded instantly. Simon gave her supplies from his home in exchange for lessons in wraithsight. Leandra taught him a way to unlock his powers, and ways to use them.
Years passed. Leandra eventually tired of her lifestyle and decided the Collegium Arcanum would be the best thing for her. Simon, now sixteen, still lived at home, but asked his parents if he could join the Collegium as well, mostly because his closest friend had just gone there. They refused. Furious, Simon threatened to use his powers, but his heart wasn't in it. He already knew that it wouldn't really be what he wanted. The young man had already found his calling. For years he had lived for the thrill of duality; attending events and talking to pretty girls in dresses by day, becoming an ordinary citizen or street-child by night to run with his friends - or splitting his soul into many pieces, summoning wraiths, mock-duelling with Leandra.
More time passed. Simon graduated as top student of his expensive, exclusive school, and his parents gifted him with a stylish new property located in the centre of the city, the aristocracy's social hub, as a reward. Like many of the young gentry, he became a socialite - apparently.
Wraithseers are rare things, but not rare enough that the signs of their activities aren't universally recognised. A lot of large cities have a resident seer, one that - for whatever reasons - has gone against the grain, and refused to join the Arcanum. The Collegiate usually consists of around sixty 'seers, and there is currently evidence of twenty-four others at work throughout the Realm. Collectively, these secretive individuals form the core of the Night Walker movement. While not all of them are rebels in the strictest sense of the word, those who wish to overthrow the Arcanum, they all break away from the political structure of the Realm, and habitually hide themselves away. A seer who steadfastly will not join the Collegium is a potential threat. Those seers who lead the Night Walkers are literally the rebels' only hope of victory; when one sufficiently skilled wraithseer can take on and defeat an entire army alone, what hope do they have against sixty? Most of the Arcanum's lawmakers feel considerable regret at their hardline policy on the matter, but it's a necessary evil.
Simon is one of those twenty-four. He has no real will to overthrow the system, but fiercely desires not to be bound by it. His only regret is Leandra, regret that she decided to leave him as much as a regret that he couldn't follow; but it's a faded regret now, slowly disappearing into the background as all lost friendships do.
At 27 years of age, with four paid servants, two published books of essays, and a lover of two years, Simon is doing well. But at night, even when Cassielle is lying next to him, his mind wanders. He has long since mastered the technique of fully transferring his consciousness into one of his wraiths, and his body sleeps peacefully while his mind rides the winds of magic.
Simon has a deep curiosity with regards to other seers, and soon got bored with simply stalking the streets at night. The night-watchmen used to be terrifying foes when he was nine, towering figures of authority with their baleful, seeking lamp-staffs. When he was with Leandra, discovery was a constant fear. His independent life, however, lacked adrenalin. So he made contact with the military, identifying himself only as 'the Auroran', and took up spying.
Simon goes on holiday fairly often, usually on his own. The lone holidays are in fact dangerous espionage missions. Adept at hiding the presence of his wraithseeing ability, Simon can move incognito with ease. Having practiced secrecy for so long, he's actually capable of becoming a wraith-form without revealing himself with the use of magic. (When a seer assumes wraith-form, soul and body swap places using some odd additional dimension, enabling them to effectively shapeshift; the only problem with this is that the use of magical power is very obvious, and is generally thought to be impossible to conceal. Simon is, to his knowledge, the only one with the ability, and he's not telling.)
The rulebook, then, is written from Simon's point of view. Enemy factions are introduced with Simon's own experiences of them and information he's stolen from various places.
What do you think?
(Edit: stupid word filter. "Nighthingychmen"? Ye gods...)
This man is Simon Julius Boreus, by day a courtly gentleman inhabiting one of the Arcane Realm's most affluent and splendous cities, by night the unseen, unknown wraithseer spoken of in hushed tones as the Auroran. Simon's parents, like a lot of the nobility, still held a slight grudge against the Arcanum. Even though it's several hundred years since the old kingdoms were unified under the rule of the seers, noble families have long memories. As such, when Simon's powers began to surface, his parents forbade him from practising with them or learning how to use them, partly out of resentment towards the political system and partly out of fear of losing their child.
Unlike his sisters however, who loved the high-class lifestyle, Simon was a street-child at heart. Having many times snuck out of the house in the evenings to climb buildings, play one-sided hide-and-seek with the night-watchmen, or cause mischief with the other children, Simon already knew how to be secretive.
Self-taught wraithsight is not recommended. Simon was lucky in two ways. Firstly, he only got one or two chances to experiment on his own, neither of which resulted in much damage - either to himself or his surroundings. Secondly, the first seer to find him was neither an Arcanus nor malevolent. It was a young woman, named Leandra. Another high-class runaway, Leandra answered to nobody, and lived by herself in an abandoned library, using her talents to steal food and money. Despite an eight-year age gap, they bonded instantly. Simon gave her supplies from his home in exchange for lessons in wraithsight. Leandra taught him a way to unlock his powers, and ways to use them.
Years passed. Leandra eventually tired of her lifestyle and decided the Collegium Arcanum would be the best thing for her. Simon, now sixteen, still lived at home, but asked his parents if he could join the Collegium as well, mostly because his closest friend had just gone there. They refused. Furious, Simon threatened to use his powers, but his heart wasn't in it. He already knew that it wouldn't really be what he wanted. The young man had already found his calling. For years he had lived for the thrill of duality; attending events and talking to pretty girls in dresses by day, becoming an ordinary citizen or street-child by night to run with his friends - or splitting his soul into many pieces, summoning wraiths, mock-duelling with Leandra.
More time passed. Simon graduated as top student of his expensive, exclusive school, and his parents gifted him with a stylish new property located in the centre of the city, the aristocracy's social hub, as a reward. Like many of the young gentry, he became a socialite - apparently.
Wraithseers are rare things, but not rare enough that the signs of their activities aren't universally recognised. A lot of large cities have a resident seer, one that - for whatever reasons - has gone against the grain, and refused to join the Arcanum. The Collegiate usually consists of around sixty 'seers, and there is currently evidence of twenty-four others at work throughout the Realm. Collectively, these secretive individuals form the core of the Night Walker movement. While not all of them are rebels in the strictest sense of the word, those who wish to overthrow the Arcanum, they all break away from the political structure of the Realm, and habitually hide themselves away. A seer who steadfastly will not join the Collegium is a potential threat. Those seers who lead the Night Walkers are literally the rebels' only hope of victory; when one sufficiently skilled wraithseer can take on and defeat an entire army alone, what hope do they have against sixty? Most of the Arcanum's lawmakers feel considerable regret at their hardline policy on the matter, but it's a necessary evil.
Simon is one of those twenty-four. He has no real will to overthrow the system, but fiercely desires not to be bound by it. His only regret is Leandra, regret that she decided to leave him as much as a regret that he couldn't follow; but it's a faded regret now, slowly disappearing into the background as all lost friendships do.
At 27 years of age, with four paid servants, two published books of essays, and a lover of two years, Simon is doing well. But at night, even when Cassielle is lying next to him, his mind wanders. He has long since mastered the technique of fully transferring his consciousness into one of his wraiths, and his body sleeps peacefully while his mind rides the winds of magic.
Simon has a deep curiosity with regards to other seers, and soon got bored with simply stalking the streets at night. The night-watchmen used to be terrifying foes when he was nine, towering figures of authority with their baleful, seeking lamp-staffs. When he was with Leandra, discovery was a constant fear. His independent life, however, lacked adrenalin. So he made contact with the military, identifying himself only as 'the Auroran', and took up spying.
Simon goes on holiday fairly often, usually on his own. The lone holidays are in fact dangerous espionage missions. Adept at hiding the presence of his wraithseeing ability, Simon can move incognito with ease. Having practiced secrecy for so long, he's actually capable of becoming a wraith-form without revealing himself with the use of magic. (When a seer assumes wraith-form, soul and body swap places using some odd additional dimension, enabling them to effectively shapeshift; the only problem with this is that the use of magical power is very obvious, and is generally thought to be impossible to conceal. Simon is, to his knowledge, the only one with the ability, and he's not telling.)
The rulebook, then, is written from Simon's point of view. Enemy factions are introduced with Simon's own experiences of them and information he's stolen from various places.
What do you think?
(Edit: stupid word filter. "Nighthingychmen"? Ye gods...)
