Urahra 5363 Share Posted September 14, 2022 OOC: I met my husband Thorten (now @Ludulo) while playing LOTC in 2015. We got married in 2018. Back in 2015, Thorten decided that he was going to screenshot all of his character's roleplay. He played his character Jace for a little over a year, resulting in 6000+ screenshots. He gave me a thumbdrive containing all 6000+ screenshots. I've looked back on them fondly over the years and I thought it might be nice to share some of them with the LOTC community. It's a really fun trip down memory lane for those of us who played in Oren during 2015-2016. You may notice I've covered some text up with black. I edited out OOC conversations, direct messages, server notices, troll RP, and stuff like that. I did this for ease of reading so that you all could enjoy focusing on the story and the roleplay. Without further ado, I present... The Ballad of Jace Evans, pt. 1 EPISODE 1 "Karovian Peasant" Spoiler The man known as Jace Evans appeared in the town of Karovia in the late 1400's. He arrived during the midst of the Schism War. He was but a peasant man of unknown parentage at the time, seeking to find work tilling the fields. Little did he know that upon his arrival in this quiet town, surrounding by green mountains and rushing rivers, he would meet a man that would change his life forever. Spoiler "Clearly you are no commoner, Jace Evans," said the stranger Karovian king who dressed peculiarly like a peasant. Those words rang in his head. What could King Andrik possibly have meant? What was the situation that Jace suddenly found himself in? The peasant farmer settled into his new home. Right away, he set to work laboring in the fields. He began to make friends among the humble people of Karovia. Spoiler Fun Fact: That's me, Urahra! I played Sophie Varley and this was the exact instant we met. Sophie was a temporary character I played while taking a break from my main character, Lorina. I ended up not doing much with Sophie, but I still thought it would be nice to include her. Sophie and Jace soon became fast friends. Sophie told him all about her mission in coming to Karovia. She was seeking out a thieving con-man who'd promised to marry her, but then stolen all her money. She had been told that her would-be fiance was spotted around Karovia. Sophie was a dwarf, though, and a former resident of Aesterwald... a fact which stirred King Andrik's suspicions. The King soon came to Jace with a mission. Spoiler Jace did his best to gather information of Sophie, but it did turn out that she was exactly who she claimed to be. Though she was a dwarf and a former citizen of Aesterwald, she was a surfacer who had never lived among her own kind and she had no special attachment to her old home. Regardless, he seemed to earn King Andrik's favor by covertly investigating the dwarven woman. Jace would soon become involved in the war in another capacity, however. Karovia had no formalized military and instead called upon its citizens to defend it during wartime. When a raid of Waldenians and dwarves suddenly descended on the sleepy mountain village, Jace found himself called to defend his new homeland! Spoiler EPISODE 2 "Man at Arms" Spoiler While that was Jace's first battle, it would not be his last. He continued to fight on the side of Canonism during the Schism War. King Andrik led his men to victory after victory for the Canonist League, eventually claiming the capital city of Petrus. Having conquered Petrus, King Andrik declared himself king of Oren and stood proud upon his victories, declaring that humanity was united under the One True Faith once again. Jace followed King Andrik to the capital city of Petrus. He decided to join King Andrik's 2nd Akovian Regiment, pledging his life and sword in service to Vydra and Oren. Spoiler While he unfortunately lost touch with his dwarven friend Sophie, he found himself making many new friends and enjoying the brotherly camaraderie of life in the military. Spoiler Although Jace would not know it yet, Publius Bracchus would become one of his closest friends. Jace received word that the Vanirs, the noble family ruling over Karovia, planned to demolish the mountain village and rebuild something new in its place. He rented a modest apartment in the capital city and prepared to move. While fetching his things from his old home in Karovia, he had a strange encounter... Spoiler Jace's new apartment. Jace did not know what to think of this mysterious armored man, in search of a seemingly deceased girl. He made his way back to Petrus with his possessions, dismissing it from his mind. His adventures with the 2nd Akovian Regiment tested his new martial abilities. He saw strange, magical sites. He stood guard over feasts. He fought enormous and terrifying monsters. King Andrik Vydra praised Jace as an exemplary soldier. Spoiler Jace continued to gain esteem in the eyes of his superiors. Jace's commanding officer, Lt. Reyne, contracted him to draft a code of conduct for the 2nd Akovian Regiment. In the Lieutenant's eyes, Jace was a shining example which he wanted the other men in the Regiment to follow. Spoiler Sometime later, he would have a chance encounter with "Lorina" - the mysterious woman mentioned by the strange man in armor back in Karovia. Spoiler Jace discovered that he and Lorina actually lived next door to one another. She was his neighbor! It seemed as though she had a story, though he knew not yet what it could be. The mysteries of Lorina only compounded as time went on. Spoiler Why, Jace wondered, were assassins targeting an ordinary citizen of Petrus? Lorina struck him as a regular person, just like any other. He could not conceive of why anyone would threaten her life. Jace pledged that he would look out for her, for she was a citizen of Petrus who needed protection and the 2nd Akovian Regiment would never deny help to a Petrusian in need. EPISODE 3 "Ensign" Spoiler Jace's efforts in the 2nd Regiment did not go unnoticed by his superiors. In short order, he was promoted to the rank of Ensign. Spoiler Jace's new rank brought with it new duties and responsibilities. His adventures with his brothers-in-arms continued. They explored far-away lands as scouts. They confronted magical mysteries that had no explanation. They fought in battles galore for the glory of Oren. Spoiler In his time as Ensign, Jace learned more about the history of Oren - and in turn, he gained new knowledge about the young lady who had taken up residence in the apartment next door to him. His neighbor was not as simple and innocent as she initially appeared. In the age before King Andrik's conquest of Oren, the nation - as Jace learned - had been ruled by a family called the Carrions. The Emperor, Tobias "Tuvya" Carrion, had been deposed in a violent coup by his own grand knight. The entire Carrion family had been either brutally slaughtered or scattered to the four winds. The once-great lineage now lay in fragments. It was theorized that only one descendant of Emperor Tuvya had survived the carnage - Jace's neighbor, Lorina Carrion. Many sought to end the Tuvic line for good and so Lorina was continually dogged by assassins. Threats came upon her life with regularity. King Andrik and Duke Vasili Vanir (who led the 2nd Akovian Regiment) both had an interest in keeping Lorina safe from harm. Spoiler Duke Vasili assigned Jace to act as one of Lorina's personal bodyguards, alongside an elf by the name of Aethos Tyberian. The two of them took their duties seriously. Lorina, in turn, began taking interest in Jace - since he, too, was a former resident of Karovia. Spoiler Though Lorina would not need the 2nd Akovian Regiment's protection for much longer. A cousin of hers, Viktor de Montfort, invited her to take up residence with him in his holdings at Owynswood. Owynswood was some distance away from Petrus. It seemed that Jace and Lorina would no longer be neighbors. In her conversations with Viktor, Lorina mentioned pursuing a career in the clergy as a nun. She seemed determined to pursue the path of faith, for which Jace could not fault her. He was a faithful Canonist man himself, who had shed blood during the Schism War. Spoiler EPISODE 4 "Sons of Vydra" Spoiler Everything changed when tragedy unexpectedly struck Oren. King Andrik Vydra arranged a diplomatic meeting with the High Elves of Haelun'or in order to broker an agreement between the two nations. The High Elves, however, turned traitor. They separated King Andrik from his retinue of guards and activated a trap door that plunged the King to his death in a pit of acid. Grief and anger overwhelmed Jace. What fate would befall Oren now that its monarch lay dead? But then, Jace came across an unexpected discovery in the libraries of the palace. Spoiler The fallen king had left detailed instructions inside a personal diary, which was then hidden away within the library. Thrilled by his discovery, Jace rushed to deliver his findings to Duke Vasili. Spoiler With the help of Duke Vasili Vanir and his brother Arik Vanir, Jace founded the Sons of Vydra. Their goal was singular - to follow the instructions laid out in Andrik Vydra's diary and to seek revenge for their fallen king. Jace was named the Commissar of the Sons of Vydra. Spoiler Together, the Sons of Vydra waged a campaign to seek revenge for their king's slaughter. In short order, Oren's vengeance was brought to bear. Spoiler As reward for Jace's labors, the Vanirs awarded him with land holdings inside their duchy of Karovia - the town where Jace lived when he first arrived in Oren. If Jace succeeded in turning the barren land into a thriving community, he would be bestowed the title of Baron and his holdings would be someday passed down to his offspring. Spoiler With Andrik's death avenged, Arik Vanir made the choice to disband the Sons of Vydra. They had served their purpose - and it was now time for the soldiers to hang up their swords and focus on maintaining peace in Oren under its new king, Olivier de Savoie. Spoiler With the Sons of Vydra officially disbanded, Jace looked forward to settling into retirement and civilian life. He turned his attention toward his new land holdings, which would be dubbed "Vanhall" by the Vanirs who oversaw it. Perhaps, with time, effort, and determination, he could build the barren land into something worth cherishing. 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DrakeHaze. 2490 Share Posted September 14, 2022 It is really weird seeing one of my personas "Snickers" becoming an Ensign along with Jace Evans, I remember so little of that time but it is neat to see it visually. Very cool! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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