Dec 21, 2018 6:25:01 GMT -6
Post by Li on Dec 21, 2018 6:25:01 GMT -6
♦ CHARACTER INFORMATION ♦
Name: Li Jun
Gender: Male
Age: Appears 18, but his soul is over 500 years old.
Occupation: Traveller
Height: 6'0"
Appearance:
Personality: Li Jun, in his current state, is a precious bean. Since his physical constitution is declining, he's devoted himself entirely to reading and writing. Despite the war being the very thing that fractured his soul, his occupation is writing history books and biographies, searching texts and such to depict happenings before, during, and after the war as accurately as possible. That should be easy for someone who experienced the war directly, but he doesn't remember much of it. He'd completely unbiased with the facts this way, though it does make recognizing his friends difficult. Honestly, he's pretty forgetful in general. Good thing he keeps such good notes on everything.
Li still has the mind of a tactician, even if he isn't much for combat anymore. His mind primarily functions pragmatically, using logic and reason over emotions. That isn't to say he isn't emotional. If anything, he's happy nearly all the time. He can become stressed easily, and can even feel lighter versions of negative emotions for small periods of time. However, should any negative emotion hit him hard, it will affect him physically. He tries to be a good sport, but it is inconvenient to be chronically ill with nosebleeds, fevers, aches, coughing spasms, and other nasty symptoms.
History: During the ancient war, Li fought along side two of his closest phoenix buddies. They were a dream team, proving to be more effective at decimating entire units than average offensive groups. Li was the tactician of the group, usually preferring to run in the background and heal or damage long range than get in the thick of it. However, he was no scrub at close quarters combat either. Their sensei didn't allow any of them to be.
However, the horrors of war seemed to get to him more than the others. There was more than enough trauma to go around, but instead of waiting until peacetime to suffer, he suffered a fracturing during the last third of the war. One battle was particularly gruesome and nightmarish, and it seemed his very soul could no longer stomach the horrors he'd witnessed. The soul split into two to save itself, harboring all the negative emotions and memories in one half while the other could live free of it all. Unfortunately, the darkened half that was needed to continue on in the war effectively hungered for power and reveled in destruction. It was under these conditions that Li decided that to win what looked to be the deciding battle, he would require all the power he could get. Though fully aware of phoenix law, this bloodthirsty half chose to kill himself so he could rebirth stronger, earning him the frowning gaze of Vissarion and a wanted man by the Bask Council. At the conclusion of the war, the enforcers came to null lantern his soul into permadeath.
However, it seemed having a split soul complicated the punishment ordered by the Phoenix leader. The offending half of his soul was successfully sucked into the lantern, but his other half had done nothing wrong. It managed to avoid capture, leaving an innocent man cowering in confused fear before the enforcers. Unsure what to do in this situation, they returned to the Bask Council, and Li lived to see another day.
Li became a traveller after this, more than happy to chronicle these new times of peace. He was free of the burden of most of what he'd witnessed, since most of his negativity was housed in the half of his soul that was now missing. Happy ever after? Absolutely not. The strain on a body possessing only half a soul is immense. After a time, Li started to experience sickness, generally brought on by situations that caused emotions and reactions he was unable to express. His body slowly breaks down without a full soul to sustain it, resulting in chronic illnesses he's learned to cope with for the most part. Still, he travels the world in a state of bliss, since the darkest thought he can handle is general anxiety.
His story begins as he meets up with his old friends, though each of them have changed in some pretty big ways. Li knows part of himself is missing, but is it worth the risk to try and get it back?
♦ SPECIES INFORMATION ♦
Name of Species: Phoenix
Baseline Dimension:
Human Form: Any height or weight is possible. It is possible to be aged anywhere between thousands of years before the Ancient War, to freshly born. It's also possible to lose some, most, or all memories in the rebirth process. It is possible for personality to also change in the rebirth process.
Phoenix Form: They are pretty big birds. Anywhere from eagle to larger than human size in the body, not counting wingspan.
Baseline Appearance:
Human Form: Due to the widespread of this species, nearly any physical trait is possible. The only thing that sets them apart physically are their eyes, which are unusually vivid colors, and crazy feathers that stick out of their hair at molting season, which is usually once every month.
Phoenix Form: Their eye color is constant regardless of form. While it is most common for phoenixes to have warm hued color schemes such as yellows, oranges, and reds, other colors are possible as well. Color can also change due to rebirth trial results. [See More Phoenix Lore below]
Culture/Origin of Species:
While the species has its roots in mediterranean climates and ancient mythology, the Phoenixes as a whole spread throughout the world and assimilated into nearly every society once able to shapeshift into human form. Most cultures have a form of the original pre-war mythos, and thus this species is shaped where the individual grew up. No matter what, though, they are nearly fearless in dangerous situations, making them a fiery, altruistic, and impulsive people. This derives from their disregard for death, since they can be reborn in flames and rise from the ashes once again.
One constant strictly to Phoenix culture is their mecca, hidden away in a secret land simply called Aubade. It's the place where the very first phoenix, Vissarion, still resides with a group of the earliest ancestors. They form the Bask Council and hand down the sun religion and rules for all other phoenixes. While mostly silent, they primarily provide political guidance and orders when needed, as well as the guidelines and rules for rebirth.
The soul of a phoenix after death travels to a spiritual world that is different for each individual, but the challenges and choices made there shape the new phoenix they will become. It tests the strength of character and will, and can have impact on anything from personality to retaining memories of the previous life. Vissarion is said to have one eye in the spiritual realm, making sure phoenixes remain a lawfully aligned species.
Rebirth is not to be taken lightly, since being immortal comes with responsibilities to everyone. Those reborn that chose selfishly or fail some aspects during their spirit trial can become chaotically aligned. Suicide is the heaviest taboo, since it is usually used selfishly to get back to the spiritual world and make changes, good or bad. Vissarion will see such things and dispatch enforcers to either force another rebirth as a reset of sorts, or to ensure the offender dies permanently should they be set on becoming a blight on the Phoenix race. While it is stated that the removal of a soul is permadeath akin to any other races death, there is a rumor that the souls are possibly contained somewhere in Aubade, in a vessel trapped in an inescapable afterlife.
{CLICK HERE for More Info on Phoenix Lore and Rebirths}
About Age Appearance:
Phoenix form age has little change after going from egg, to chick, to adult bird. Once a phoenix’s body reaches adult form, this is the way it will stay for all of time, no matter how old. Vissarion’s phoenix form looks just as young and spry as a newly matured phoenix. Upon death and rebirth, a phoenix turns to ash and forms back into an egg. Once reborn, there is brief period between hours and days that a phoenix once more grows up from chick to adult.
Human form is a bit different. Phoenixes have a funny relationship with time, so they can actually directly control how old their human form is that they shapeshift into depending on where they need to fit in. For instance, if a phoenix needs to go back to school to relearn things dulled by time, they can appear as children and teens once more. If they are in a position of power and need to seem wise to all races, like Vissarion, they can assume a middle-aged or even elderly form. Rebirth affects human form as well. After hatching, if in human form they will rapidly age from infant to whatever their desired age is.
About Vissarion:
In appearance, the head of the Bask Council and the authority to all phoenix kind is a magnificent white bird with golden flames. In human form, he has adopted the the general appearance of an elderly man, so as to capitalize on most species’ perception that age equals respect and wisdom. His hair is white like his feathers, and his skin is a healthy tan from much time in the sun’s rays. His right eye is the deepest blue, while the left is white and lacks a pupil. The left eye is the one that can see into the spirit world and watches all rebirths, a gift to him from the sun god they worship. The ancient being is completely neutral to the point where it really is everything for the greater good, no matter what, and does not hesitate to make harsh decisions as long as it is for the good of all phoenixes as he sees it. He may also be responsible for memory loss within the trials.
About Rebirth Trials:
When a phoenix dies, the soul goes to its own personal spirit world, which is ultimately a place where they are tested before rebirth. Each spirit world is designed differently and finely attuned to test each individual phoenix, acting as a trial to target weaknesses and reward strengths. However, there is always temptation. Two gods war for a phoenix’s soul, offering different options during the trials to overcome obstacles and situations. The phoenix will not know which influence is which, making the trials very difficult and not to be taken lightly. In the eyes of phoenix law, good rebirths result from making most decisions aligned with the sun god they worship. Bad rebirths are falling victim to the moon god’s choices, which chips away at a phoenix’s natural ability to manifest good qualities, and ultimately drags them toward an chaotic alignment.
Repeated bad rebirths will warp a phoenix a little more each time. After so many and depending on the severity of a bad phoenix’s actions, Vissarion will dispatch enforcers to force one last chance at salvaging the soul. Ideally the offender learns to remedy the mistakes in the trials and returns to the approval of the sun god, but should that not happen, the Bask Enforcers will either imprison the phoenix for rehabilitation, or strip the phoenix of their soul to cause permadeath.
Another issue that will bring the wrath of the Bask Council is suicide. Since phoenixes are immortal, the purpose of killing themselves isn’t for traditional means of escape, but rather to enter the rebirth trials on their own terms to selfishly alter themselves for various reasons, good or bad. Those who have taken their own lives are automatically branded and hunted. Their souls are forcefully removed.
Playable Phoenixes-- Sun Phoenixes, Bask Enforcers, Moon Phoenixes, and Twilighters:
With the mechanic of rebirths, the world has found itself with variants of phoenixes.
Sun phoenixes are the most common of the species, making up the reckless heroic types we know and love. They reliably rebirth good when it comes to it. These are the culturally acceptable, law abiding souls unquestionably loyal to the sun, Aubade, the Bask Council, and each other. They are the frontlines in the wars and the protectors of the weak. Not all sun phoenixes are perfect, but they strive to be so Vissarion and the sun god will be pleased with them.
Bask Enforcers are the cream of the crop of sun phoenixes. They have proven themselves with very good rebirths, displaying top loyalty to Aubade and the Bask Council enough to become the most trusted elite force. They are extensively trained in Aubade to be the strongest, and even forced to rebirth repeatedly to weed out imperfections and cleanse pesky memories that could pose problems. Many enforcers stay in Aubade with the other ancients on the council as protection and a quick scramble military force, but others are allowed out into the world as reserves and are expected to be on-call if they're needed. They are in possession of a special lantern housing a black hole, called a Null Lantern. All an enforcer must do is utter the full name of the offending phoenix, command the lantern to ‘clip their wings’, and the Null Lantern will suck in all the light in range along with the offender’s soul.
Twilighters are those who have had bad rebirths and are stuck in between. They have retained some of their positive traits, but also have negative ones to complicate things. These have not yet fallen too far into the moon god’s grasp, thus not earning a visit from Bask Enforcers. They are closely watched by Vissarion’s spirit eye, though.
Moon phoenixes have traveled too far down the dark road, listening to the swaying hiss of the moon god too easily. A notable shift in personalities and identities as a whole has happened, giving life to a darkness within. A poor rebirth manifests the more negative personality traits. It’s how normally heroic phoenixes can become thieves, murderers, liars, adulterers, etc. They'll be more apt to manipulate others and slink around in the shadows. Their feathers will take on darker colors. Once a phoenix gives in to getting tainted or taken over by the moon god’s temptation, things get more complicated. It is against phoenix religion, thus they are branded and hunted, forced to rebirth so the trial can potentially send them back to the sun. If they fail the forced trial again, they are subject to imprisonment within Aubade or permadeath.
About Age Appearance:
Phoenix form age has little change after going from egg, to chick, to adult bird. Once a phoenix’s body reaches adult form, this is the way it will stay for all of time, no matter how old. Vissarion’s phoenix form looks just as young and spry as a newly matured phoenix. Upon death and rebirth, a phoenix turns to ash and forms back into an egg. Once reborn, there is brief period between hours and days that a phoenix once more grows up from chick to adult.
Human form is a bit different. Phoenixes have a funny relationship with time, so they can actually directly control how old their human form is that they shapeshift into depending on where they need to fit in. For instance, if a phoenix needs to go back to school to relearn things dulled by time, they can appear as children and teens once more. If they are in a position of power and need to seem wise to all races, like Vissarion, they can assume a middle-aged or even elderly form. Rebirth affects human form as well. After hatching, if in human form they will rapidly age from infant to whatever their desired age is.
About Vissarion:
In appearance, the head of the Bask Council and the authority to all phoenix kind is a magnificent white bird with golden flames. In human form, he has adopted the the general appearance of an elderly man, so as to capitalize on most species’ perception that age equals respect and wisdom. His hair is white like his feathers, and his skin is a healthy tan from much time in the sun’s rays. His right eye is the deepest blue, while the left is white and lacks a pupil. The left eye is the one that can see into the spirit world and watches all rebirths, a gift to him from the sun god they worship. The ancient being is completely neutral to the point where it really is everything for the greater good, no matter what, and does not hesitate to make harsh decisions as long as it is for the good of all phoenixes as he sees it. He may also be responsible for memory loss within the trials.
About Rebirth Trials:
When a phoenix dies, the soul goes to its own personal spirit world, which is ultimately a place where they are tested before rebirth. Each spirit world is designed differently and finely attuned to test each individual phoenix, acting as a trial to target weaknesses and reward strengths. However, there is always temptation. Two gods war for a phoenix’s soul, offering different options during the trials to overcome obstacles and situations. The phoenix will not know which influence is which, making the trials very difficult and not to be taken lightly. In the eyes of phoenix law, good rebirths result from making most decisions aligned with the sun god they worship. Bad rebirths are falling victim to the moon god’s choices, which chips away at a phoenix’s natural ability to manifest good qualities, and ultimately drags them toward an chaotic alignment.
Repeated bad rebirths will warp a phoenix a little more each time. After so many and depending on the severity of a bad phoenix’s actions, Vissarion will dispatch enforcers to force one last chance at salvaging the soul. Ideally the offender learns to remedy the mistakes in the trials and returns to the approval of the sun god, but should that not happen, the Bask Enforcers will either imprison the phoenix for rehabilitation, or strip the phoenix of their soul to cause permadeath.
Another issue that will bring the wrath of the Bask Council is suicide. Since phoenixes are immortal, the purpose of killing themselves isn’t for traditional means of escape, but rather to enter the rebirth trials on their own terms to selfishly alter themselves for various reasons, good or bad. Those who have taken their own lives are automatically branded and hunted. Their souls are forcefully removed.
Playable Phoenixes-- Sun Phoenixes, Bask Enforcers, Moon Phoenixes, and Twilighters:
With the mechanic of rebirths, the world has found itself with variants of phoenixes.
Sun phoenixes are the most common of the species, making up the reckless heroic types we know and love. They reliably rebirth good when it comes to it. These are the culturally acceptable, law abiding souls unquestionably loyal to the sun, Aubade, the Bask Council, and each other. They are the frontlines in the wars and the protectors of the weak. Not all sun phoenixes are perfect, but they strive to be so Vissarion and the sun god will be pleased with them.
Bask Enforcers are the cream of the crop of sun phoenixes. They have proven themselves with very good rebirths, displaying top loyalty to Aubade and the Bask Council enough to become the most trusted elite force. They are extensively trained in Aubade to be the strongest, and even forced to rebirth repeatedly to weed out imperfections and cleanse pesky memories that could pose problems. Many enforcers stay in Aubade with the other ancients on the council as protection and a quick scramble military force, but others are allowed out into the world as reserves and are expected to be on-call if they're needed. They are in possession of a special lantern housing a black hole, called a Null Lantern. All an enforcer must do is utter the full name of the offending phoenix, command the lantern to ‘clip their wings’, and the Null Lantern will suck in all the light in range along with the offender’s soul.
Twilighters are those who have had bad rebirths and are stuck in between. They have retained some of their positive traits, but also have negative ones to complicate things. These have not yet fallen too far into the moon god’s grasp, thus not earning a visit from Bask Enforcers. They are closely watched by Vissarion’s spirit eye, though.
Moon phoenixes have traveled too far down the dark road, listening to the swaying hiss of the moon god too easily. A notable shift in personalities and identities as a whole has happened, giving life to a darkness within. A poor rebirth manifests the more negative personality traits. It’s how normally heroic phoenixes can become thieves, murderers, liars, adulterers, etc. They'll be more apt to manipulate others and slink around in the shadows. Their feathers will take on darker colors. Once a phoenix gives in to getting tainted or taken over by the moon god’s temptation, things get more complicated. It is against phoenix religion, thus they are branded and hunted, forced to rebirth so the trial can potentially send them back to the sun. If they fail the forced trial again, they are subject to imprisonment within Aubade or permadeath.
Traits:
• Immortality: Phoenixes can die, yes, but they are reborn either in a fiery blaze or rise up from the ashes within hours. They have 3 points in vitality.
• Pyromancy: Naturally attuned to flame, phoenixes are more adept with using the element to both harm and protect, and sometimes as a source of spooky divination.
• Fire Eagle Eyes: Birds have some pretty impressive sight when it comes to range and distance. Don't expect to get much past them.
• Partial Shape Shifting: Due to being immortal and having a high vitality phoenixes have control over their natural shapeshifting allowing them to partially shift.
Flaws:
• Molting: Molting happens about once a month, and renders a phoenix exhausted and lazy. It's almost like an illness such as a cold, where they will appear less than healthy and cough ash. This lasts anywhere from 1 to 4 days, but robs them of their flames until the fire is rekindled and burns the molting away.
• Praise the Light: They become weaker in darkness. Anything that blocks the light of the sun or moon from them for an extended amount of time will sap their strength.
