A skeletal, Gothic edifice, built of dark stone, seeming to capture the very daylight and extinguish it within its gates... And how much more terrifying would it appear at night!
Who would dare approach it? Who could summon the courage to face this monstrous tower of darkness? Only those whose lust for power overcomes their fear. Only those who can tap a bottomless well of hate, who would see the land around them brought under domination, the good corrupted, the sweet turned bitter, and darkness spread over the world.
Those who do manage to reach the gate would find the following sign, written in a cramped, wiry hand on a neat wooden sign. Naturally, the letters are painted with a dark brown or red "ink."
You are most UNwelcome to the Guild of Dark Sorcerers.
Applicants need not apply. Supplicants will not be supplied.
Customers for the Weaving Shop, go to the back door.
The Guild of Dark Sorcerers is devoted to training dark sorcerers who will serve the Dark generally, and the fallen Mage Azrael, Harbinger of Death. Dark Sorcery is not only about death or necromancy, but rather covers a variety of “evil” pursuits: corruption, domination, deception, unfair advantage, wars of conquest, etc.
Guild sorcerers use a formal system of magic, with rites, rituals, and spells, unlike the “wild” creatures of Secfenia. Your character does not need to be human to be a sorcerer, however.
All ranks, positions, honors and “powers” earned in the guild are RP-only. You do not have to be level 3 or study sorcery in-game unless your Master demands it (see below). Students are encouraged to RP learning and using their sorcery as much as they desire, subject to two rules: First, if you are following the Guild path, please try to stick by the advancement plan your Master sets for you. Second, avoid god-modding. If you are going to use your sorcerous powers on a player target, you should follow the rules of good RP, and come to some arrangement if necessary about your ability to dominate or harm them. With NPCs, however, feel free to be as evil as your nasty black heart desires.
There is a system of advancement and promotion, whereby players will move through 4 ranks. and gain access to more and more dangerous “books.” The 10 “books,” which are based on groupings of the Tarot Major Arcana but only very very loosely, contain principles of RP magic intended to guide players in writing rites, rituals, and spells. As players learn a new book or attain a new rank, they’ll have the option of adding a small “badge” to their banner with a corresponding Tarot image and title.
The ranks are:
- “Wretches,” where they are evaluated and considered, but not taught anything of substance.
- “Acolytes,” who serve the full Sorcerers, can begin to create their own rites, spells, and rituals.
- “Sorcerers” learn the more challenging books, and are expected to help the Acolytes learn, including adventures IG and/or RP.
- “Masters” learn all but the most dangerous books. They are also expected to teach the acolytes and sorcerers. Masters also set the requirements for moving from one book to the next. They can require IG actions (within reason), RP actions, or a combination, before they approve a student for advancement to the next book. To move to the next rank (every couple of books, see below), some “bigger” RP or IG action should be required.
If you feel your character knows some magic already, you can have them start as an acolyte, sorcerer, or master. To be a master, you should be active, and should try to set requirements that your students will like fulfilling. For ease of RP, any master can teach any book they have learned, so RPs don’t get hung up.
Note: because this is a guild, I (Koschei’s player) intend to try to “enforce” that status. Therefore, characters (not players!) who use formal dark sorcery without joining the guild will be invited to join, then hassled, then threatened, if they are willing to RP. [/ooc]
A window opened in an upper story of the tower, and Koschei's thin head and wispy white hair poked out. He glared at the forest where he'd built his tower, and he scowled at the rooftops of the town beyond.
"Empty, empty!" he muttered to himself... "What to do, what to do..."
He toyed with the idea of going back to the old fireball and leveling a few houses, just for sport... but on balance he decided that would send the wrong message. So instead, he worked a quick spell to amplify his voice, and called out in a rough voice that carried over to the town:
"Some of you better get over here and join this guild, or I'll burn down half your town! Ha!"
Satisfied, he withdrew into the shadowy interior of the tower, and waited for his first students.
Koschei stood at the window of his chamber, his bony hands clasped behind his back. Behind him a fire crackled in the stone hearth, but it did little to ease the chill of the room. Though it was springtime, the Grand Master preferred the chill, and his chamber had the good sense to abide by his wishes. The sorcerer scowled down at the path that led from the door of the Guild, through the Imperius forest, and out into the town.
"Well, they really are going to force me to burn down their town, eh? What a bunch of thick-skull'd fools are these mortals... Nonetheless, naught to be gained by sitting up in the tower and grumbling. Azrael rewards those who take initiative, eh? Time to take some initiative!"
Turning from the window, he glanced at a carved wooden calendar on his desk and grunted. "Hmph. Tuesday, eh? Not the best. Saturday would be best, but there's no time for waiting!"
He crossed the room, hobnailed boots clacking on chilled stone, to a massive double-door cabinet, twice the size of a man in all directions, that loomed in the corner. It was closed tightly, and made out of a wood that was almost entirely black aside from some blood-red streaking in the grain. He rapped sharply on one of the doors, and called out "Gennady! Open up!"
The right-hand door slid open a tiny crack, and the keyhole on the left door seemed to be regarding him warily. "What do you want, old man?" it creaked.
Koschei sighed. "Gennady, my friend, why do you have this attitude with me? Wait... let me ask you a better question..." He held out a hand, palm up, and blew into his open palm. There was a rustling of chill wind, and a swirl of dust above his hand, and then a small creature appeared. A tiny insect. A termite.
Koschei held the termite up in front of the keyhole. Without actually moving at all, the cabinet seemed somehow to shrink back. "Gennady... of the two of us here in this room, which of us is the evil sorcerer holding a termite?"
The answering creak came after a moment's pause. "You are... Grand Master."
Kosche nodded. "And which of us is the low-level darkling spirit that has been bonded into a cabinet that is made of, I believe, wood?"
"I am, Grand Master," it groaned. With a sort of deciduous-sounding sigh, the doors swung open all the way, revealing an inky blackness.
Koschei closed his open hand, and the termite disappeared with a tiny pop. "Well-remembered, Gennady. Now please, bring me... the shelf for Tuesdays, and the shelf for Astral Navigation."
There was a rumble, and the cabinet filled with a cool blue glow. Two shelves appeared from the glow, and the sorcerer rummaged in them, before stuffing the pockets of his robe and closing the cabinet doors firmly. He nodded briefly to Gennady the Spirit-Cabinet, and swept out of the chamber of his tower.
Last edited by koschei on Thu Jun 09, 2011 11:51 am, edited 2 times in total.
She was not afraid of the Tower.
She was afraid of little. It was not due to her shape, imposing though an orc woman is. It was not due to her intelligence being low; considering her orcness, she was very bright. Her lack of fear was due entirely to her heritage. Being born with green skin and long teeth does something to your view of the world and it's dangers.
Her parent's expected her to "learn something useful." To her, that meant learn how to destroy those who cross her most efficiently. At a young age, she decided her hands should not be bloody, like her brother's. So how to kill, maim, destroy and dominate without breaking a nail? Magic, of course.
She found herself at the door of this Tower. The rumor was a very ancient, evil man was inside and could teach her all she needed to know.
There was no second thought.
She marched straight to the door and knocked loudly.
Koschei was just about to step out the front door when a thunderous knocking shook the dust off the tower's timbers. The sorcerer paused, and then slid open a view-slit in the door and peered out.
He saw the orc.
"Ye gods, they've come back for me!" he cried out, spinning around and flattening his back against the wall beside the door. In his mind...
He stands atop his fortress of ice, cackling and shouting with the sheer glee of dominion! The fool creatures! Fragile little goblins thought they could rebel against him? Mortal men, pathetic creatures! His crystal mines had gone empty during this so-called "slave rebellion" for the past two days, but now he would crush them like so many insects! Ha! He had the full power of a host of demons behind him - what harm could they possibly do?
He laughed as they threw themselves at his fortress. Laughed as goblins died like dogs, freezing in his moats, devoured by his wolves, struck down by cold flame from his fingertips...
Then came the Orcs. The Orcs who trudged through his moats like oxen on a winter road. The Orcs who sent his wolves fleeing like mere pups. The Orcs...shrugged off his powerful blasts like a mere inconvenience...
He did not laugh as the Orcs began to tear apart his fortress, piece by piece...
He leaned against the wall, wheezing, his eyes shut tight. After a minute, he cautiously opened one eye. Now that he thought about it, there hadn't really been an army of Orcs out there. There had been one... well... he'd almost say "girl," if it didn't seem so ridiculous. This bore investigation.
He slid open the view-slit once more, and his querulous voice inquired: "Are you a Good Orc, or a Bad Orc?"
On reflection, he wasn't sure which answer he wanted to hear, but he felt that either way he'd learn something important.
Last edited by koschei on Mon Apr 11, 2011 10:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Her head tilted to one side. She regarded the eyes peering at her. She decided this must be a fussy servant sent to filter out the salesmen from the students.
"I am very good orc. I fight without mercy. I do not retreat. Strong, fast, skilled."
She leaned forward and grinned at the eyes in the door.
"And I eat nothing but warm meat. But that is not important. I want to learn magic and be powerful. Where is your Master?"
Koschei drew himself up to his full spindly height, and filled with offended wrath.
"My master? My master, you say! Well!..."
His mouth hung open as a thought struck him. Had he not always said that it is far better to use trickery rather than to be straightforward? This orc knew nothing of his identity, and he could perhaps take advantage of that, at least for a little while. He could learn about her, observe her, at little risk to himself...
"...My master, alas, is on a journey of some few days. I was just going out on a journey into the forest, to conduct a few small errands for him. If you like, you can join me. I regret I am not nearly the master of magic that he is, of course! But I may be able to answer some of your questions. Will you join me on this stroll in the woods?"
Her eyes narrowed as she considered it. He was not the one she hoped to see, but he could be useful. From the look of him, he had served the ancient sorcerer for many decades. He could tell his master if Brikka had been helpful, or knew her way in the forests. It never hurt to be on good terms with the staff. Not good terms really, but on terms certainly. And if he touched her with any bony fingers she would break him. She nodded. She stepped back from the door to let him exit.
" I will go. I ask questions as we walk, you answer them. What errand you have in the woods?"
Realizing she forgot the 'manners' humans so craved, she added, "I am Brikka. You have a name?"
As he stepped through the massive door of the tower, he turned to face it while he pulled it closed. This allowed him to hide a gleeful grin. "Foolish girl!" he thought, "to give her name away so easily! Why, with a name from her own lips I could... I could...I could do nothing, as I've never learned to use the names of living mortals. Fah!"
His scowl returned as he turned away from the door.
"I am ... er ... Gennady, yes, Gennady!" The old spirit-locked-in-a-cabinet wouldn't mind, he was sure. "I've been sent to find an animal that used to belong to my master. A raven, though of course the original raven is long since dead. So we'll search in the spirit world for the raven, and give him a comfy home." He smiled indulgently at her as he set off down the path. "Would you like to see that?"
