Valen
Well-Known Member
At the dawn of the First Age, the world of Shannara was born out of the destruction of the planet we once called Earth. As the missiles fell, as the nuclear blast destroyed all that was left of a dying world, a chosen few were selected to survive. These chosen were to lead us into a new age. They were the genesis of what would come to be known as Shannara.
Many countless millennia onwards, it has all come full circle. Shannara is slowly dying, and the chosen will lead a handful of survivors into the dawning of a new age -- the Final Age.
The most glorious Age of them all.
A thousand years have passed since the time of Grianne Ohmsford, Ard-Rhys of Paranor. The world of Shannara is one that is barely recognisable from the one walked by the likes of Jerle Shannara and his descendants. The majority of the world's population is dead, victims of a virulent plague carried by the mutated wielders of the Wishsong. Through the corruption of the magic, these carriers unleashed a deadly torrent of death and destruction upon the unsuspecting inhabitants of the Four Lands.
Magic is now illegal. Wielders of the Wishsong are hunted down and exterminated upon the first manifestation of their powers. This intolerance has extended to all users of magic. The druids are no more, and the ancient keep of Paranor has been torn down with the ignorance and hatred of so-called goodly folk who brand all users of magic as the same.
Far, far away, in the desolate Northlands, a fell presence stirs. A terrible fragment of an ancient evil, one thought long lost and dead in the annals of time long gone by wakes once more..... Soon, its shadow will fall across the remnants of the Four Lands. Echoes of its power and terrible majesty have already been felt -- sightings have been seen of the dead rising again to walk the earth, mindless monstrosities infused by the dark essence of something incomprehensible. Far away from civilised lands, savage spider gnomes gather under the banner of a warlord.
Soon the Four Lands will cry a river of blood.
Here, where this all began -- this is where it will all end. Echoes of a time long past, come back again.
For the chosen few, blissfully unaware of what is unfolding around them in the world at large, sheltered within the safe and sleepy Shady Vale, life is about to change forever. Here, in the place where so many, many years ago Shea and Flick Ohmsford embarked on a quest that would change the fate of the world forever -- here, it all begins again.
One last time.
Shadows gather around Shady Vale, and a dark stranger rides towards the village.....as Allanon himself had so long ago.
Here, where it all began, so does this chapter finally end.
Hello everyone. I will be your host for this tale of derring do. Those of you who have gamed with me before know what the drill is. Those of you who have not, listen up 
.
I have a rough and ready checklist of rules that I would ask you to be mindful of:
There are some parameters that you will need to bear in mind when applying:
1: You will have been born in Shady Vale and have lived there all your life. Although I will make an exception for one of the group only, for the most part I want all of you to have been born and raised there.
2: Similar to point 1, you'll all know each other prior to the game starts. You don't necessarily need to have been friends, but you'll certainly know each other. After all applicants have been chosen, we will perform a reconciliation exercise to work out links between each other.
3: Acceptable Races. Human, Elf or Half-Elf only, not up for debate
Still with me? Great, I think we'll get on fine
.I have a rough and ready checklist of rules that I would ask you to be mindful of:
There are some parameters that you will need to bear in mind when applying:
1: You will have been born in Shady Vale and have lived there all your life. Although I will make an exception for one of the group only, for the most part I want all of you to have been born and raised there.
2: Similar to point 1, you'll all know each other prior to the game starts. You don't necessarily need to have been friends, but you'll certainly know each other. After all applicants have been chosen, we will perform a reconciliation exercise to work out links between each other.
3: Acceptable Races. Human, Elf or Half-Elf only, not up for debate
Still with me? Great, I think we'll get on fine
I've seen lots of application threads looking for a standard appearance/personality/background format. I'm not looking for that here. Instead what I want is the following, in the following format:
Name:
Race:
Age:
Overview: In one paragraph, give me a high level summary of your character. An example of this is as follows:
Karnak is a heavily-scarred warrior who was a high-ranking soldier in the Warlock Lords army. He is looking for redemption following his desertion from the force, however is haunted by nightmares of the many atrocities he has committed.
I would also like to see a picture of your character..
Following this, answer me these four questions:
1: Why do you enjoy PbP?
2: What do you look for in a PbP game?
3: Describe to me your best experience in a PbP game
4: Describe to me your worst experience in a PbP game.
Finally, I want you to post me a short role play sample in response to the following scenario as you think your character would respond:
"A stranger rides into town on the back of a dark horse. You are going about your daily business when the horse charges up to you. The rider is dismounted. He falls to the floor, an arrow jutting from his shoulders. Under his breath he mutters something about an army of the dead closing from the north, then he passes out."
Please note, this is not a first-come first-serve style application process. I will read through all submissions carefully before making a final decision. I will also be bringing along a character of my own creation for the tale - I am looking for five others to join him at most.
For a quick look at my writing style, please look at the below excerpt from the opener:
Name:
Race:
Age:
Overview: In one paragraph, give me a high level summary of your character. An example of this is as follows:
Karnak is a heavily-scarred warrior who was a high-ranking soldier in the Warlock Lords army. He is looking for redemption following his desertion from the force, however is haunted by nightmares of the many atrocities he has committed.
I would also like to see a picture of your character..
Following this, answer me these four questions:
1: Why do you enjoy PbP?
2: What do you look for in a PbP game?
3: Describe to me your best experience in a PbP game
4: Describe to me your worst experience in a PbP game.
Finally, I want you to post me a short role play sample in response to the following scenario as you think your character would respond:
"A stranger rides into town on the back of a dark horse. You are going about your daily business when the horse charges up to you. The rider is dismounted. He falls to the floor, an arrow jutting from his shoulders. Under his breath he mutters something about an army of the dead closing from the north, then he passes out."
Please note, this is not a first-come first-serve style application process. I will read through all submissions carefully before making a final decision. I will also be bringing along a character of my own creation for the tale - I am looking for five others to join him at most.
For a quick look at my writing style, please look at the below excerpt from the opener:
Far, far away, in a small, ice-encrusted grotto, something ancient stirred. From high above, the snow rained down from the heavens. Neverending swirls of snow blew all around in beautiful circular patterns. All around, as far as the eye could see, all there was was a neverending plateau of snow, and of ice. A white carpet that stretched across for an entire eternity. An all-encompassing winter wasteland. No explorers, no adventurers came here to this frozen paradise. To do so would have cost them their very lives. In the sky above, blackness ruled over the world below. This blackness was punctuated by small, individual twinkling stars.
This was a giant frozen, icy tomb. It was never daylight here, here in the furthest reaching, most extreme corner of the Four Lands. There was only ever night, eternal, everlasting darkness reigning supreme over the world and its cowering servants far below. The only creatures that roamed here were mindless, feral beings that existed only for the bloodlust that consumed them so. Yet these savage, primal creatures were not the worst things that roamed these savage wastes. Worse things dwelt here. Things that no sane, mortal being would ever want to lay eyes on.
Here, in this frozen world, there were deadly secrets that lay entombed under the sheets of ice that lay across its surface. It was here, in the icy grotto that something crawled into existence, wakened by events elsewhere. It was here, under the watchful gaze of the silver moon that an ancient, whispered sigh was heard by all who lived in this frozen world. Creature, spirit and all bowed their heads at its sound, offering their complete obeisance.
For their master had returned.
It was one such creature that stood in the center of this grotto. Leathery, gray wings were folded across its chest. Taloned hands jutted out underneath the leathery flaps of its skin. Red eyes glowed, reflecting off the moon's light. Around this creature, there was a slight movement. To those who were not sensitively attuned to the atmosphere around them, they would not have noticed anything. To those who were, they would have seen it. The shadows flitting around the creature grew darker and deeper. The already frigid air grew colder still. But most of all, the aura around the area carried with it a tinge of darkness and dread.
Faint whisps of shadow formed in front of the creature, becoming opaque before fading into insubstantiality. Fragments of nothing -- or perhaps something? Yet the winged creature bowed to one knee as the ghostly whispers of a voice echoed around it.
"Malevolence, first of mine and last to live, you were always my most loyal servant."
The creature's red eyes glowed ever brighter as it raised its head. "I serve, as always. What is your will?"
The shadows swirled. They were nowhere -- they were everywhere.
The winged figure stands. It snaps its head from side to side, watching the ghostly essence flicker in and out of existence around him. The voice echoes forth once more.
"Go to Shady Vale. Destroy it. Do this for me, Malevolence."
It bows his head.
"Your will be done."
Snapping its head upwards, it unfurls its wings. Gazing to the sky, it flies once more, heading southwards. The creatures of the arctic vale prostate themselves at its passing, paying homage to its magnificence.
It flies for blood.
It flies to kill.
This was a giant frozen, icy tomb. It was never daylight here, here in the furthest reaching, most extreme corner of the Four Lands. There was only ever night, eternal, everlasting darkness reigning supreme over the world and its cowering servants far below. The only creatures that roamed here were mindless, feral beings that existed only for the bloodlust that consumed them so. Yet these savage, primal creatures were not the worst things that roamed these savage wastes. Worse things dwelt here. Things that no sane, mortal being would ever want to lay eyes on.
Here, in this frozen world, there were deadly secrets that lay entombed under the sheets of ice that lay across its surface. It was here, in the icy grotto that something crawled into existence, wakened by events elsewhere. It was here, under the watchful gaze of the silver moon that an ancient, whispered sigh was heard by all who lived in this frozen world. Creature, spirit and all bowed their heads at its sound, offering their complete obeisance.
For their master had returned.
It was one such creature that stood in the center of this grotto. Leathery, gray wings were folded across its chest. Taloned hands jutted out underneath the leathery flaps of its skin. Red eyes glowed, reflecting off the moon's light. Around this creature, there was a slight movement. To those who were not sensitively attuned to the atmosphere around them, they would not have noticed anything. To those who were, they would have seen it. The shadows flitting around the creature grew darker and deeper. The already frigid air grew colder still. But most of all, the aura around the area carried with it a tinge of darkness and dread.
Faint whisps of shadow formed in front of the creature, becoming opaque before fading into insubstantiality. Fragments of nothing -- or perhaps something? Yet the winged creature bowed to one knee as the ghostly whispers of a voice echoed around it.
"Malevolence, first of mine and last to live, you were always my most loyal servant."
The creature's red eyes glowed ever brighter as it raised its head. "I serve, as always. What is your will?"
The shadows swirled. They were nowhere -- they were everywhere.
The winged figure stands. It snaps its head from side to side, watching the ghostly essence flicker in and out of existence around him. The voice echoes forth once more.
"Go to Shady Vale. Destroy it. Do this for me, Malevolence."
It bows his head.
"Your will be done."
Snapping its head upwards, it unfurls its wings. Gazing to the sky, it flies once more, heading southwards. The creatures of the arctic vale prostate themselves at its passing, paying homage to its magnificence.
It flies for blood.
It flies to kill.
