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In Heaven (Part I)Hosted by (Syrmaticus) |
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“Men, not gods, bore fire into heaven.”
– The sage Aldoon in the wake of the first Ril Dyaran invasion of Leikonsir. Thought to be his final teaching before his arrest and execution for subversion against the crown.
A World in Sunder story, and sequel to In Sunder
The land of Ril Dyara lies shattered. After decades of wanton, imperialist kings and ill-starred wars with the peaceable realms of the south, the once-prosperous kingdom burned under the torches of two opposing forces: the royalist Halberds, loyal to the throne, and the rebel Pikestaffs, who sought the overthrow of the war-mongering monarchy.
The civil war ended with the capture of the last king – Aderelan Un-Crowned, unmasked and taken into Pikestaff custody while journeying in disguise to the capital to take up his new-elected office. By this unexpected coup the rebels forced the royalists to a decisive defeat at the negotiating table, lighting at last the flame of enlightened rule in the historically monarchic nation.
And enlightened men know to make peace for past trespasses.
Even as the long, slow healing of the realm begins, embassies ride forth from the Triumphant Gates of Ril Dyara’s great capital. By many roads they will travel, retracing the steps of bygone forefathers and invaders, to deliver unto the nations of the south a message as extraordinary as it is simple: war no more. The Ever Triumphant Realm, mighty Dragon of the North, humbles itself – and seeks peaceful accord for the ages to come.
Highborn and low, patrician and peasant – there are none that do not find representation among these envoys, these faces of the new Ril Dyara. Some go for the honor and reward of service with the new regime, others for the wonder of distant lands, and still others for reasons known to none but themselves: a call of the spirit, or a chance at a new life, or perhaps a last journey before the long sleep.
And there is none so deserving of such a deputation as Leikonsir: the Garden of the Gods, land of plenty and victim of a century of Ril Dyaran aggression. Only the worthiest of the new regime’s olive branch-bearers will be found in this embassy, for therein lies much it has to lose…
…and much to fear, for as the sages said of old, one assails heaven at one’s own peril.
License: Community License
Host’s rules: none specified
- Please write in third-person past tense.
- No one-liner moves, please. Flesh it out. Give others something to build on.
- Communicate frequently. Work/life getting in the way for some time? Want to rope another character into your move? Need to clarify something about a challenge? Say something in comments – or on Slack (get your invite here).
- Likewise, NPCs, including other embassy members, are free for all to control (unless otherwise stated), so communicate with each other if several of you are sharing NPCs across moves.
- The setting is largely open to worldbuilding input from players. Want to add something? Reach out and let’s chat!
Info for invitees and applicants: none specified
Forum thread here. Game is planned to kick off on or before Dec 16.
In Heaven is set in the World in Sunder universe, which began with In Sunder.
This is a low fantasy, mono-species world, with circa 15th/16th century technology and very subtle magical elements, if any. Think good-luck charms and rare, hazy premonitions, not wizardly hadokens or demon summoning.
Players will assume the roles of members of the first Ril Dyaran embassy to the paradisal land of the Leikon people in over a hundred years. The embassy comprises folk from all walks of life and social strata, so as to truly represent the reformed Ril Dyara, and this is not intended to be a combat-heavy game, so the cast need not (and should not) be all silk-clad nobles or sword-and-steel types; in addition, characters of either gender are welcome.
The embassy will be coming together as a whole for the first time at the start of the story. In your application, please indicate how your character came to be an ambassador – handpicked or volunteered? For deeds or misdeeds? Get creative.
Please create your own Strength, Weakness and Subplot cards. Some Nature cards are provided as samples – you are more than welcome to make up your own. Please follow the axe motif for any custom Natures, though (unless the character is reprised from In Sunder). Card art is encouraged; avatars are a must.
The themes I hope to explore are: trouble in paradise, the allure versus the reality of foreign lands, and how people’s views and beliefs may shift and ebb in a non-globalized world.
I am looking for 4-6 players who can commit to at least 1-2 moves a week and are open to collaborating on moves. To keep things moving, I will NPC characters who have been inactive without notice for some time. Any inactive without notice for too long will be retired.
Card settings: Standard Heroic Gritty Custom
Word limits: unlimited player / unlimited narrator
Triggers: none specified
Some graphic violence and strong language
This game completed 06/18/2018. It started 12/13/2016 This game started 8 years ago and has 75,591 words, 6 scenes, 69 moves, and 114 comments.
image source: ottmag.com