Name: 'Elium'. Nicknames: El or Eli, if you really want to push it. Gender: Male. Age: Recently sixteen. In reality, he's a bit older, but not by much.
Faction: Undead. Race: Plague eater. Elaborated on in the next post!
Natural Ability: [ -+- ] year one - - center for disease control oooooo]Elium passively filters a small percentage of 'miasma' out of the surrounding area, leading to fresher air and a lower germ count. What eaters call miasma is basically the FEAR produced by disease/illness/etc and decay rolled together, and when ingested passively, keeps Elium fed and vaguely happy. About as happy as he normally is, anyway. oooooo]See the species post below for more details.
Personality: [ -<>- ] respectful - - submissive oooooo]If you've garnered the eater's respect for whatever reason, Elium will be polite, courteous, and overall, a doormat. It's very easy to walk all over him after, but without the right degree of subtlety or select careful words, all that you've earned will evaporate in an instant, and you're entirely liable to remain on his bad side for at least a while. If somebody he respects is leading a group or activity, he won't step forward to offer suggestions or attempt overt assistance, and will instead do whatever he's told without much fuss. He doesn't seem to notice if he's being used until a good while after it starts, and he doesn't respond well to it when he's discovered just what's going on. Elium is a stickler for referring to people by their titles if they have any, and generally will not make eye contact when speaking to somebody as well.
[ -<>- ] intelligent - - stubborn oooooo]Elium isn't stupid, and he knows it. While he's not a genius by any means, he's in a comfortable spot where he's got plenty figured out and yet doesn't get hassled for answers or advice. His knowledge of things is a comfort to him, and he'll fight figurative tooth and literal claw to resist changes that strongly affect ideas that he's held for a while. He likes what he knows and is entirely convinced that it works, and you're not going to get him to change his mind without a fight. It doesn't matter much to him that he's awful fragile as far as the physical department goes, but push him far enough, and he might actually put up the dukes. He doesn't have any sort of inclination to be an a** about what he thinks he's got sorted out, and you won't catch him declaring that he's right and you're wrong. He much prefers to stay unnoticed, and trying to lord things over people isn't really a good way to do that.
[ -<>- ] loyal - - vindictive oooooo]One of the things that he prides himself on is his sense of loyalty. Elium knows when he's picked the proper folks to stick with--most of the time, anyway. He'll latch on to them out of both gratitude for being friendly to him and a desire to ensure that they're okay, which can sometimes lead to him being smothering. On the other hand, if you manage to irritate him regardless of your current status, he usually won't hesitate to either give you a good dressing down or sometimes a physical confrontation, even if he isn't the best fighter. If you really get him wound up, you can expect a long series of subtle revenges that may or may not involve humiliating you if at all possible. The best way to get off of his list is to clearly attempt some form of reparation--an offering of books he hasn't read or some unusual token is a good way to do this, though it has to be coupled with a proper apology as well. Even then, he'll be watching you a lot more carefully afterwards.
[ -<>- ] passionate - - wrathful oooooo]Elium throws himself into what he loves, regardless of what it is. While that isn't always a good thing, when he gets fired up about something positive, it's more than a little obvious. He won't stop working on whatever it is until it's done, and will actively seek to improve upon it as he goes with varying results. If it's an individual instead of an inanimate object, they'll get the finest in skinny diseased guy protection, for what it's worth. His passion is sometimes his undoing, as he's also liable to flying off the handle entirely--it's not a pretty sight, but at least he's easily subdued. While he may not last terribly long in a fight, his anger certainly does, and he'll hold grudges for a ridiculously long time without batting an eye. Elium tends to ramble about the things he enjoys, as well as apologizing profusely for such when he realizes that he really should've shut up about five minutes ago instead of talking somebody's ear off. If you share the same interests as him, he'll likely take a shine to you almost immediately, and will occasionally attempt to talk about such things after a warmup period.
Why are they enrolled in Amityville Academy? oooooo]The problem with having reached the age of maturity for your species is that you're going to suddenly have a lot of expectations put on you; even moreso when those expectations involve you basically joining a cult of disease in a rural area. Needless to say, Elium wasn't quite sure he wanted to deal with that, which resulted in a late-night really frustrating hitchhiking sequence that got him somewhere far better--Amityville. Enrollment was a bit of an issue to get situated, but he managed on his own, getting settled fairly quickly and hoping that nobody from his family-group finds him. Luckily enough for him, that's not likely to happen.
FEAR Ability: [ -o- ] year one - - piercing pandemic + battle cry oooooo]By focusing ingested miasma, Elium generates a tarlike ooze around his claws and slashes at his opponent, hopefully splattering them with the substance. It's going to hurt either way!
[ -o- ] year two - - typhoid mary + the chill oooooo]With a good amount of concentration, Elium gathers a small amount of loose miasma, centering it over his own injury in a dark cloud and combining it with his FEAR to produce a healing effect. The energy heals some wounds, but does not fix broken bones.
[ -o- ] year three - - ashes, ashes + tainted fang oooooo]By merging some FEAR with his miasma, Elium disperses a thick, dark cloud of ashlike particles around him. Enemies caught in this cloud may hallucinate symptoms of various diseases, and may experience imagined sensations corresponding to their illusory malady. The particles are infused with miasma, however, and have a chance to poison.
Physical Description: Eye Colour: N/A. Hair Colour/Style: N/A. Skin Colour: N/A. Clothing Style/Colours: Very simple, sturdy clothing. Pretty much all black, with the occasional bit of medium red here and there. Extra: His arms from the elbow down are an odd ceramic gauntlet sort of thing, with black feathers at the 'elbow' and sharp claws at the fingertips. See references for details when they make it up. References: Warning, these are kind of big. :'| oooooo][ x ][ x ] oooooo][ sketch that I will never finish ] | [ tiny fleeing Eliums ] oooooo][ WIP paperchildren! Mosh on the left, Elium on the right ] and then there's this ancient paperchild. Physically speaking, Elium is about seven feet tall and about as well-built as a twig. He looks rather emaciated when he's down to just his bandages and closer clothing, and when visible, his skin's an unfortunate light gray-purple color where there aren't discolorations or lesions. He's got a few scars, though nothing serious, and these show up as darker welts that crisscross his skin here and there. His nails are black, and he does not have any visible hair. He does have some runic scarification running from his left side across to his right hip, and these, in contrast to the more mundane scars he possesses, are visibly paler than the rest of his skin. His mask is a simple, slightly bone-colored affair with red lenses and no real ornamentation, with a medium-length beak that ends in a sharp hook. The vents for his mask are located in the groove that forms his 'mouth', and are a series of small holes that, when the mask is open, make the inside of his jaws appear to be serrated with a large amount of diminutive ridges. If one were to feel the edges while he's eating, which is a very bad idea and should not be attempted, they would find it quite sharp, and would probably wind up with a sizable cut for their troubles. When he removes his hood, some tousled, slightly curly and rather short dark brown hair can be seen. It doesn't seem to grow past an inch in length. Due to the effects of the Legacy meta, Elium also has a black lock located right at the center of his collarbone. It is suspended by three chains projecting from small spikes located on both sides, and these chains meld together into one at the side of his neck, fastened with a silver bead. There is a drop extending from the center of the lock's bottom edge, and this holds a chain with larger, rounder links that connects to another silver bead before splitting off in either direction to meet up with the lowest chain of both sides about midway through, ending with the same bead as the other connections do. This lower chain forms an upside-down T shape. The main body of the lock doesn't have that much ornamentation, simply bearing a few slashes, some small wing engravings, and a few dots and lines here and there. It smokes a dark black, and tends to create a wispy trail wherever Elium goes. His skull pin is attached to the band of his hat, right where the feather's tucked in. Its reference image is located to the right.
And finally, some sprites from the Legacy meta!
Have a color palette.
Posted: Sat Jul 27, 2013 12:04 am
<--<>-->What's a plague eater, exactly? {I apologize in advance, as this gets really wordy. You may get a medal if you read it all.} i'm serious. little shitty paint-drawn medals.
[basic] ooooooPlague eaters, more commonly referred to as just eaters, are quite likely some odd and distant cousin to plague doctors that tend to stay in family-groups composed of anywhere from three to nineteen individuals (though some wings with larger numbers are known) that are usually entirely unrelated. In appearance, they can be considered mock doctors, though they lack any visibly inhuman traits at first glance. Most of them are tall and thin, covering every possible inch of their bodies with bandages or cloth so as to hide their diseased appearances. They do not require physical food or drink, and both sleep and breathing are simply entertained as a ways for them to fit in better with groups that may need to do as such. Eaters instead absorb FEAR, which they call 'miasma', from the area they're in and occasionally diseased or ill targets--the specific FEAR they go after being a combination of the product of illness, various forms of taint or corruption, and germs/bacteria. Eaters act as a sort of filter for this, processing it and converting it into energy that they can use while at the same time purifying the area. They cannot ingest pollution, curses or magical ailments, physical injuries such as broken bones, mental or psychosomatic conditions, Distortion, or Insanity, and only older or more experienced eaters can handle the more serious maladies and infections. Most are not trained in a medical sense, and many live out in rural areas where they act as witch doctors of sorts as they pass through villages. They lead a mostly nomadic lifestyle, wandering through lands as they follow FEAR and carry on their way.
[everything else]
[eating] ooooooWhile all eaters can passively ingest FEAR enough to sustain themselves in most instances, there is a more direct route that can sate them for longer periods of time. This is simply called eating, unsurprisingly, and during this process, the eater selects their target and begins to draw forth one particular kind of FEAR from the afflicted. Their mask opens, and the FEAR is drawn into the beak, at which point it closes in order to contain and process the energy. In doing so, the eater takes on the appearance of having physical symptoms of whatever malady they've ingested, though they aren't affected by it. As a result, most eaters tend to hide their entire bodies from view with good reason. Each individual eater can only eat one type of FEAR from a target at a time, and cannot eat from them twice--while less experienced eaters may not entirely purge the target of the ill effects, most older ones can clear it away entirely, though this is not always true. Younger eaters cannot handle the FEAR from potentially fatal or critical conditions, and will succumb to the energy if they attempt to do so. ooooooFinally, eating will not remove decay from an undead target--it does not even effect them.
[social] ooooooAs stated previously, plague eaters stick in family-groups referred to as 'wings'. These wings frequently center around a sort of private cult pertaining to either a particular FEAR or malady, and depending on the intensity of the cult, may only seek out sources of that specific 'chosen'. Not every oriented wing is single-minded in that manner, however, but most of them with a strong cult presence stuck to their single idol. An /idol can be any sort of thing, ranging from your typical diseases to epidemics, though most chosen are something commonly found. Multiple wings can have the same chosen/idol, and that periodically results in infighting between wings, particularly if two or more happen upon their idol all at once. ooooooWings are usually not related, simply due to the act of swapping members when similar wings interact. If the wing has a cult, when an eater comes of age, they are expected to join it; if not, they are to find themselves a wing that they feel fits them, which also results in a variety in bloodlines and members. Some of these cult wings do not appreciate it when their younglings refuse to join their cults, and exile or abandonment is an unfortunately common occurrence. In order to join the cult of an oriented wing, young eaters are to go out and find a relic relevant to the idol to bring back to the wing's cleric. The cleric is responsible for the continuance of the cult and the upkeep of its lore, and is the keeper of all relics returned to the wing. A relic can be anything that's been affected by the idol, so long as it isn't alive--as a result, most tend to smell pretty damn horrible. Once the relic and the eater carrying it has been safely returned to the wing, they are welcomed back as an adult and are given full social standing in the wing. Overall, the differences between oriented and disoriented wings isn't terribly great; however, disoriented wings tend to be more structured and stable, while oriented ones are usually more chaotic and reckless. ooooooThere are a few different ranks of sorts in wings, with differences implicit to both cult-oriented and disoriented wings. The structure can be loosely defined as a sort of pack, with some variation in the duties and expectations assigned to each rank. At the top of the list are the Guides, those who direct the wing and bring it to fresh FEAR. The Guides are the most important members, and are allowed to eat first once the wing has encountered FEAR. They are typically the most experienced or powerful eaters present in the wing, though not necessarily the oldest, and decide where and when the wing moves, as well as most other choices that affect the whole of the wing; as a result, most wings tend to have an odd number of Guides so as to prevent tie votes between them. Both cult-oriented and disoriented wings have Guides, though disoriented wings tend to call them anything other than what their cultist brethren do. Underneath the Guides are the Found, who act as second in command to the Guides. The Found have some sort of specialty that has marked them as above the rest, be it the rare physical prowess, hunting skill, or simply great intelligence. They are usually role models to the younger members of the wing, and act as the police force when needed. Found are present in both types of wing, and are usually referred to as Guardians in disoriented wings. Third in rank in cult-oriented wings are the Clerics, which are responsible for the maintenance of the wing's cult and are curators for collected relics. With disoriented wings, this rank is replaced by Chosen, who are basically the average civilians--with oriented wings, they rank in at number four. Chosen that serve as guards or caretakers are treated slightly better than those who are essentially jack-of-all-trades. The lowest rank are the Rotted, who are either prisoners of 'war' or disgraced wing members that have not redeemed themselves and are potentially facing ejection from the wing. Prisoner eaters are on the higher end of this rank, while dishonored eaters are considered the lowest of the low. Younglings are the members of a wing that have not gone through their rite of passage/have not been recognized as Chosen yet, and are technically unranked. They are usually taught and taken care of by the entire wing, with a few primary caretakers generally being considered as the youngling's parents. Gender of the parents does not matter, and most younglings are simply found along the wing's travels. While it is up to the Guide to decide what to do with a found youngling, it's not often that they reject a youngling from being accepted into the wing. Ranks are used as titles--for example, if Ghezrel becomes a Guide, the wing will call him Guide Ghezrel in addition to the more generic Guide title of 'Honored One'/'Honored'. Occasionally, contraction honorifics are used if an eater with a particularly long name has a respectable rank, and are considered signs of affection. Chosen Markilawas may become Chosen M'awas, Ma'ila, or practically any variation of their name so long as it's sufficiently shortened. ooooooIn short, ranks are as follows, from highest to lowest. Younglings are not included on this list. ooooooCult Wings :+: Guides > Found > Clerics > Chosen > Rotted ooooooDisoriented Wings :+: Leaders > Guardians > Chosen > Rotted ooooooThere is an order when it comes to eating from a target, and it starts with the Guides. Found and younglings are next, and it travels down the chain after that. Rotted can be denied the privilege of eating by the majority of the wing, and are usually only permitted to eat small amounts of FEAR. ooooooEaters in larger wings travel in caravans of sorts, utilizing small carts and tents as their homes. Beasts of burden are usually as sickly as their masters, though they tend to be doted on by the entire wing. Smaller wings also possess carts, though these are hand-drawn, and are generally going to be incredibly small.
[physical] ooooooPlague eaters have a human silhouette, though it's slightly distorted. Most, if not all of them, are ridiculously tall, settling at seven to nine feet in height on the average range. Their arms are somewhat longer than a human's would be, and a majority of them wear ceramic gauntlets tipped with claws and adorned with feathers. Clerics and Guides may have runes carved into them, similar to the runes underneath their masks. The crafting of these gauntlets is a tradition upheld by all wings, using ingredients specific to each wing in order to craft something that shows the eater's origins. It isn't uncommon for an eater to have a mask of one color and gauntlets of another, and wings will usually have a range of colors as far as gauntlets go. While they were at one point used for protection or perhaps the handling of diseased individuals, now, eater gauntlets are just as much a cosmetic fixture as they are useful, even though it's highly unusual to find a pair that's incredibly ornate. In the event of an eater losing a finger/hand/arm, they can still wear the gauntlet and operate it as if they still possessed whatever they have lost, though only while the gauntlet is worn. This is due to a vaguely symbiotic relationship between the materials and the eater itself--the ceramic is strengthened by the FEAR that enters the system, and the energy forms a sort of network that acts as something akin to a redundant nervous system. Gauntlets are not interchangeable between eaters, and attempting to do as such is greatly frowned upon in most wing societies. ooooooOn the subject of eater masks, they physically cannot remove them. All are made of the same sort of ceramic that is used for gauntlets, and though it is capable of some range of expression, the mask will never open its beak unless the eater wearing it is actively ingesting FEAR from a target. It's affixed to the eater's face through the physical bonding of hieroglyphs on both the face and the inside of the mask, fusing it in place. Most eaters have a serious hatred of respawning, and as a result, the majority of the species will viciously fight to the end when nearing dissipation, which has created a few adages about them. Their masks are tougher than they look, but a good hit dead-on can crack or shatter it if executed properly. As a result, most eaters use FEAR to strengthen their masks, though some older eaters scorn the practice, relying instead on 'tried and true' strength of the material. The lenses can be a variety of colors, though rarely black or white, and are always impossible to see through to the eyes underneath. As a result, eaters have fantastic poker faces, though body language can give them away just as easily. The colors of the ceramic are usually washed out or lighter tones, and similar colors are not considered to be a negative thing. In fact, some wings believe that if individual eaters have masks of either exact or very similar shades, they may be destined to be together. Not every clan holds beliefs of this sort, and some dismiss such things entirely. ooooooUnderneath whatever covering they've pieced together for themselves, eaters are physically wracked with all the visible symptoms and hallmarks of the FEAR they've ingested. An eater that's devoured some sort of infection may display sores or discolored extremities, for example, while another that's had necrosis will have patches of skin removed. They do not feel pain from this, though some may smell more than a bit odd, if not straight up rotten. As a result, many carry pouches of sweet-smelling herbs and substances, tucked away into pockets to combat the smell for the sake of both their targets and anyone they may chance across. Underneath their mask, most eaters have solid black eyes and an overall sallow and emaciated appearance, and it's rare for them to have more than an inch or two of hair, if at all. ooooooWhen it comes to clothing, most eaters have a tight-fitting layer of bandages or similar wraps to keep everything where it should be, usually followed by a second layer of looser clothing and gloves. Some may include a coat or a hat with their ensemble, and the color choices are entirely dependent on both the eater in question and the traditions of the wing they are a part of. Dark color schemes with brighter accents tend to be favored choices, and most eaters include some emblem unique to them in their clothing, usually by embroidering it somewhere. Eaters without wings or Rotted eaters usually wear dull colors, and, in many cases, have very worn clothing that certainly could do with repair, and Rotted eaters have their emblems, if any, torn out. oooooo]Physical growth is possible, but it happens gradually, and tends to stop entirely once the eater has reached the age of fifteen. Small or stunted eaters occur when a youngling expends FEAR before the individual has enough to properly sustain them, or by prolonged lack of healthy amounts of FEAR. Due to the emphasis on the proper care of younglings, stunted eaters are rare, and are mostly orphaned or abandoned in origin.
[outcasts] oooooo]Eaters that are not a part of a wing are considered slightly above Rotted eaters in status, though not by much. Outcasts are rarely accepted into a wing due to suspicion and sheer stubbornness, but such a thing has happened before. They are extremely susceptible to being picked off due to the lack of protection afforded by a wing, and very few outcasts left their wings willingly. In most cases, they are chased away from wings when they draw near, with a few Chosen ensuring that they are a safe distance away before returning to the wing. Outcasts are a rogue element that most wings prefer not to take chances on, especially considering the fact that most are criminals. While the matter is treated differently all across the board, general consensus is that outcasts are pariahs, and should be treated as such.
[names] oooooo]Every eater has two to three names that they use. First is their given name, which is freely shared and is usually what they are referred to in public. Second, there is also a much more personal self name, which is discovered by having either a cleric or Guide sense the patterns of the individual's hieroglyphs under their mask. The self name is only given to an individual's most trusted friends and loved ones, due to the suspicion that knowing the shape of their hieroglyphs will make them far easierto be targeted in combat. The third name that an eater can have is their cult name, though this is, needless to say, not present in disoriented wings. This name is only used within gatherings of their cult, and is not freely shared in public out of deference to their chosen. Cult names may be descriptive, such as Blackbone, or they could be just as any other name. When referring to an eater, rank titles are only used in combination with their given name. Some clerics are not even referred to by name, instead simply called by their rank. This is not done in a negative sense, and many clerics seek to achieve a level of unity with their chosen to the point where names become unnecessary. oooooo]Eater names beyond the given name are entirely likely to sound odd or unusual to bystanders, and relying on pronunciation to spell them later is honestly a bad move. For example, Arzilawesh is a Guide of broad eater lore, but her name is commonly pronounced as (ahr-WHY-lu-zesh). Some may be as simple as Nar, but could be said in entirely different ways. As pronunciation tends to vary from wing to wing, eaters rarely have names that are said exactly the same. oooooo]Not knowing one's true self name is not considered to be a negative thing. After all, not all wings have access to clerics, peaceful or not, and some Guides may not be able to sense the runes. As a result, a shell name is created by the eater in question and is used in the stead of a self name, usually for their entire unlife. While it is entirely possible that an eater may have their self name shown to them, most eaters with shell names do not use the self name in place of the one they have chosen. oooooo]Names with multiple parts are acceptable, but most eaters will not have a descriptive name that isn't their cult name. In example, Rivuli or Carnam'atta are both perfectly fine names, but Deadwood or Tangletoes are not. This is due to the fact that most Rotted and outcasts are given names of this sort, usually derogatory in nature.
[prisoners] oooooo]If multiple wings meet and a fight starts, there is a very high chance that prisoners will be taken, usually for hostage or--still unsurprisingly--vengeful purposes. Most wings will not attack each other without reason, such as a source of their chosen being claimed by another wing. If a prisoner is taken, they are instantly considered Rotted in the receiving wing, and are treated as such. They still are permitted to eat before the disgraced portion of the Rotted rank if there's any FEAR left, though most of this is considered lower-grade and not as suitable for consumption. While some prisoner Rotted can eventually be considered in a positive light, they will not be elevated to Chosen status unless they have done something great for the wing they now reside in, as well as renouncing their allegiance to their former wing. When promoted, these Rotted are on the lower end of the Chosen scale, but are still full citizens and are treated as such. oooooo]Hostage trades usually happen when wings meet in peace, potentially with a few Chosen going with them to both keep an eye on the Rotted and to learn about what could very well be enemies later on. Swapped Chosen are looked upon with no real stigma, but many eaters are likely to be suspicious of them, particularly right after the swap occurs. No Chosen will accompany a prisoner to an enemy wing, though they can defect to the other side if they are careful about it. A defector will be killed upon sight if they come near their former wing, and are stricken from all standing within the wing they deserted. The receiving wing may still considered defectors to be somewhat of a rogue element, but being that they cannot rejoin the wing they have left, are usually not publically treated with suspicion. What happens in private is an entirely different matter, and some defectors may find that they have more than a few eyes on them at all times.
[bonding] ooooooPairing is simply the act of deciding to be bonded. The first bonding is considered an important step in an eater's unlife, and breaking it is somewhat frowned upon, though not severely. Bonded eaters can be in any number, not necessarily pairs, and gender does not matter. While some bondings can result in three or more eaters being joined, if any eater in the bonding wishes to leave, the entire ceremony must be redone without the leaving individuals. The ceremony of bonding varies from one wing to another, but always centers around private rituals used to attune the eaters with each other. Bonding cannot be forced or nonconsensual, as the dissonance produced will disrupt the attenuation and make the rituals fail. After the private services, there are usually small, highly social gatherings of close friends and neighbors, similar to a human wedding reception. When bonded, an eater takes on the suffix of -zhri, i.e. Attal-zhri. ooooooAttuning is the act of synchronizing two or more eaters. When attuned, the eaters can subtly sense mood changes in their bonded(s) when nearby, and more intense feelings can be voluntarily shared. If the sensation is sharp or unexpected, such as a surprise attack resulting in an injury, the pain may be shared among the bonded regardless, though more battle-hardened eaters can filter this out to spare their bonded. If one attuned eater is killed, the rest will feel it immediately, and it has been described as a sensation similar to having one's heart torn out. Bonded that have lost one of theirs usually will not replace their departed if they are in a bonding with multiple eaters, though widowed eaters tend to bond together after the mourning period has passed. Bonding with a youngling is forbidden, and few eaters even consider bonding with Rotted or outcasts.
[hieroglyphs] ooooooThere is one thing that surpasses FEAR and wings in importance to eaters, and that is their hieroglyphs. Hieroglyphs are unique to each eater, and are generally thought of as source of their unlife, even though this is not the case. They are protected underneath their masks, and very few eaters can figure out the hieroglyphs of another without either being bonded or having had a hand in creating them. An eater's most personal name is discerned by reading their hieroglyphs, and the reader usually knows all the self names of the entire wing. Due to this, hieroglyph readers are highly respected and very well taken care of, and most are either clerics, Found/Guardians, or Guides. oooooo]Hieroglyphs are used in a multitude of rituals, ranging from the bonding process to the proper execution of Ha'arta, the ritual pertaining to a missing or leaving eater. They are also conduits for FEAR as stated previously, and damage to the hieroglyphs really isn't a good thing.
{Below this is the rambly explanation via Skype of Elium and eaters in his original universe. It isn't formatted or anything, and I apologize!}
[7/19/2013 8:42:22 PM] Call failed: visually he's like a plague doctor but [7/19/2013 8:42:34 PM] Call failed: okay so time for a bit of background and all that stuff! [7/19/2013 8:50:56 PM] Call failed: Elium's setting is like--medieval Europe with some magic. not too much, and it's mostly feared because 'what the everloving s**t'. there's also a particularly pernicious plague (ha alliteration) going around that's been a thing for years, and has resulted in the magical creation of a sort of undead called plague eaters. they're people who were ritualistically killed, imbued with magic, and then had an enchanted mask sealed to their face that they literally cannot remove. ever. it's got some range of expression but not too much, and the jaw only opens when they eat plague. there are two different types of eater, and they're both verrry costly to make. normal eaters can eat plague from anything and will remain humanoid, while marked eaters were made to eliminate plague from one specific individual and are much more expensive. while they can eat from anybody, eating from their mark evolves them into a clarifier, which is a birdlike semi-humanoid huge-a** monster thing that mass-eliminates plague in a limited area around them and isn't really human in mentality anymore. eaters can crack open their masks to eat from any infected target, draining a thick nasty sort of goo called miasma from the target's eyes/mouth/nose/face in general, which is then sucked up. eaters can entirely remove plague from a person once and can't do it again, but they can also infect a person--though they won't be able to cure them if they do.
see, Elium was just your average farmer dude living in a sort of fiefdom, and their ruler guy was pretty cool. he did, however, fall ill of the plague, at which point the entire village scraped together money to get a converter (p. much exactly what it sounds like) to come and make them a marked eater to protect the place. they all drew straws, and being that Elium wasn't present as he was BUSY ACTUALLY WORKING instead of faffing around in magic s**t basically, he got 'volunteered' for the position. needless to say, he wasn't happy about it, and infected the converter as soon as he woke up and is now pretty much avoiding his home village like the plague (ha) and is wandering around the place.
eaters don't have to eat/drink/breathe and are kind of in this weird state of not-really-decay, though they look pretty damn bad. all skin and bones and rib, you know. they're generally ridiculously tall and skinny as hell, and some may have additional modifications. for example, Elium, being a marked eater, has a sort of bonus addon that's basically a set of ceramic 'gauntlet' type things that end in claws and have feathers at the elbow. marked eaters generally have something like that going on, as it's a way to distinguish them from the normal ones.
s'yeah. [7/19/2013 8:50:59 PM] Call failed: WALL OF TEEEEEEEXT [7/19/2013 8:51:21 PM] Call failed: and that is the truncated ramble on 'eaters. [7/19/2013 8:51:54 PM] Call failed: but also as a note they pretty much...have to eat plague periodically, else the magic sustaining them kinda fizzles out and OH LOOK YOU'RE DEAD FOR REAL THIS TIME [7/19/2013 8:52:13 PM] Call failed: ... KINDA SUCKS [7/19/2013 8:52:46 PM] Call failed: Elium's basically quiet disapproval all the time with a burning hatred for magic [7/19/2013 8:54:00 PM] Call failed: kinda tends to smell a little musty, too. keeps himself bandaged up and under a shitton of layers for obvious reasons. also doesn't have to sleep so yay for that! |'B
[facts] oooooo[§] Elium does not have a cult name, and his given name is pronounced (el-EE-um). His self name is Zhirak, (JAI-rook). oooooo[§] He is actually somewhat afraid of all sorts of corrividus, and is not fond of explaining this. oooooo[§] Elium does not enjoy the city. At all. He thinks it's crowded, too noisy, and smells funny--as a result, it's highly unlikely that he'll be going out too much. oooooo[§] Due to his upbringing past the outskirts of civilization, Elium is highly unused to loud noises and those made by vehicles other than carts, and is very easily startled by such things. He requires near silence to actually 'sleep', though the sounds of insects are entirely acceptable. oooooo[§] One of the things he loves is a good book. If he's found something he enjoys, he won't put it down until he's read it cover to cover. He isn't the best reader out there, having been taught by ten different eaters who collectively weren't too bad, but he's working on it. Some large words will confuse him, but he tries. That aside, if you're the one who gave him a book he adores, you're going to be showered in praise, gratitude, and discussions about said book. It's just going to happen. Accept it. oooooo[§] He's really kind of a nerd, but has absolutely no experience with electronics or advanced technology. Sure, he knows it exists and has dealt with electricity before, but things like eyephones will perplex him to no end. Don't even ask him if he has a critter. oooooo[§] Elium was initially abandoned by his wing during his conversion--they had been driven off by a larger approaching wing, and were forced to leave both Elium and another youngling. The Alzar wing, an oriented one with infections as its chosen, came across the two of them shortly after they emerged, and the Guides insisted that Alzar was their original wing. Elium is unaware of the swap, and his gauntlets are Alzar-crafted. His mask is not. oooooo[§] Underneath everything, Elium isn't too badly off as far as his condition goes. It certainly could be worse. Still, he's got a sort of musty smell, and any visible skin is going to have an odd purple-blue-gray tint, as well as various marks of disease. And scars. Hoo boy, scars. oooooo[§] While he hasn't had a lot of experience with minipets in general that weren't wild, he's decided that he quite likes ghost dogs, basilisks, and pathlings. He also prefers the failed floresces to the 'successful' ones for whatever reason. oooooo[§] Due to the placement of his mask, he is unable to eat or drink. That doesn't mean that he won't try cooking for somebody who can, even if this may wind up less than stellar. He tries hard, and that's what matters--okay, no, the taste of it is. Rest assured that he isn't infecting your food, however. Most of the time. oooooo[§] He can vaguely feel sensation through his gauntlets and mask. Light touches are not likely to be picked up on, but if you put pressure behind it, he'll get it if he doesn't see it. oooooo[§] Elium really, really likes the smell of rosemary, as well as most sweet and/or herbal scents. He's entirely liable to have a few plants of aromatic nature in his room. oooooo[§] He's not very comfortable in enclosed spaces, especially not small and dark ones. While he can make do with buildings such as the academy, shoving him into a closet will not result in anything positive.
[drabbles]
Coming soon!
Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2013 8:19 pm
Little bump because facts added and more info put into the species post.
Updated with a better emblem! Can't really pick between that one and this version, though. :L
Also looking for perhaps some pointers on just...general things I might've missed, especially in regards to the setting. Tried to leave his personality somewhat open-ended so he could develop more for the setting as he gets played, but I'm not sure if I did that right. :'|
Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2013 10:31 am
Has participated in the Legacy meta, with his heart log located here. ; u; Also updated the first post with a color palette, tweaked his description, and added some sprites from the meta!
...this is also a bump to keep him from falling off the first page!
Congratulations! Your character has passed the enrollment process and you're cleared to begin playing. Essentially, this means you can get your art certed, make your character's journal, and most importantly start RPing. If you're a little lost then don't worry, this guide is here to point you in the right direction.
gaia_crown [ Art Check! ]:
- Do you have your character's art? Great! Move onto the next crown.
- If you do NOT yet have your art, you may now contact your artist and let them know that they may now start on creating your character!
gaia_crown[ Certs & Emblems ]:
- If your character is a STUDENT, you may create a customized student pin for them. This is entirely optional (but fun!) special badge that is unique to your character's design! You can find more information about pins (also known as their emblem) here.
- Hallowen characters (Students & Horsemen) may bet their character certed here!
- Don't be shy about RPing! As soon as your character has been enroll approved you can start! Check out this awesome information about The World of Halloween and Amityville Academy. All students start off in Amityville academy. Need more things to do? Check out this whole subforum! Anything labelled Activity is open for you! Occasionally GMs will promote and open CLASSROOM orps. These usually happen in the classroom subforum. All students are invited to participate!
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- If you are a Horsemen, please refer to here and the handy links in the first post as well as the other posts for concurrent and quest information! Need more things to do? Check out this whole subforum! Anything labelled Activity is open for you! Occasionally GMs will promote and open CLASSROOM orps. These usually happen in the classroom subforum. All Horsemen are invited to participate!
gaia_crown[ What's happening currently? ]: - We try to keep all important things happening regularily updated in the ANNOUNCEMENTS THREAD. This goes for ALL FACTIONS. Have a question? Ask it in the Q & A !
gaia_crown[ Still feeling a little lost or overwhelmed? That's okay! ]: - Check out what was just mentioned in FULL DETAIL HERE! Don't be too overwhelmed, there's time to sort everything out. For now, just enjoy some simple RP!
gaia_crown[ Finding RP ]: - There's a bunch of ways to find RP. You can just contact a friend or any shop regular OR one of our available GMS for help! Otherwise, there are a lot of people looking to plot with YOU in their plotting threads! You can even make your own and advertise in your sig/ in the main thread/ etc etc!
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Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2013 3:20 pm
Zactura
For reasons unknown to the rest of the gnome staff, the Enrollment Bin was sick for a good several days after eating certain enrollment slips and spent the majority of the time throwing up several wads of paper.
Name: 'Elium'. 
