Order Of The White Rose

[Urahra 5359]

The evacuation came suddenly.

It had started one day when the order came to Krak du Rhoswen for everyone to start preparing to leave. They were leaving Oren. Today. No one quite understood what was going on. Everyone in the White Rose and neighboring town Crestfall had received an Imperial Order to evacuate at once and report to Arethor. No reason was given, but the Imperial seal on the order and the signature of the Emperor looked official enough. All of a sudden, the entire keep erupted into a flurry of activity. What had started as a sleepy morning soon transformed into a mad rush. Tanith, who'd awoken at her usual hour and had come downstairs to start breakfast, found herself walking smack dab into the middle of a swarm of soldiers, all dashing to grab their valuables and armor before they were forced to leave the keep (perhaps for good). Tanith, still wearing her bedroom slippers, watched over the railing as Thomas Chivay barked orders at the scurrying footmen. "What's...going on?" she muttered to herself, blinking sleepily. Her husband, Baldir Toov, normally woke up earlier than she did for morning training with the footmen. Searching for the figure of her tall husband, she made her way slowly down the stairs into the throne room.

"Let's go! I vant everyzhing valuable packed up! Armor on! Leave nozhing behind. On your feet soldiers, ve are leaving!" The soldiers in the immediate vicinity of the large Captain began to hustle about their duties, turning Krak from the home of the Rose to a cold, mountain of a statue. Shifting his gaze about to inspect the throne room, Toov's gaze fell upon Tanith, whose confused look and timid actions made it clear she was unaware of the situation at hand.

Tanith hurried over to him. "Baldir, what's going on?" she asked, gently tugging on Toov's tabard. "I've never seen Krak this active so early in the morning." A small, perplexed frown tugged at her lips as she observed the soldiers hurrying up and down the stairs. The few of them who had managed to gather all their belongings stood beside their things, fully armored and looking unusually alert for the early hour.

Mirroring her frown, he rested a gentle hand upon her shoulder. "Orders came down from zhe Imperial court. Ve're to evacuate onto zhe ships. Nozhing more." The train of soldiers continued to carry things out the back of the keep towards the docks, a steady sound of clanking armor against the cold stones of Krak du Rhoswen.

Tanith swiveled her head toward him, her eyes wide with shock and further magnified by her half-moon glasses. She blinked owlishly, her frown deepening. "Evacuate?" she echoed, turning to look at the soldiers carrying supplies out toward the ships. Alarm writ into her dark face, she twisted to look up at her husband. "Is something wrong? Are we going to be attacked? Why...well...will we come back? We'll come back, won't we?" Of course they would. They had to. Krak du Rhoswen had been their home for years now. Tanith could hardly imagine leaving. In spite of the strain caused by their boorish neighbors in Crestfall, she had grown to like their fortress by the sea. She woke up every morning to the salty crash of waves against the stone and the distant cries of seagulls.

Biting his lip in contemplation, Toov reached up from her shoulder to brush a strand of hair from her face. "I do not know, mein Liebling. It is best zhat ve prepare as if ve vill not be returning..." Sensing her trepidation, he matched her gaze, locking his amber eyes to her red ones. "Do not vorry, Tanith. Ve vill be just fine."

Tanith dropped her head, looking down at the stones beneath their two sets of feet - his a great deal larger than hers. "I suppose I should go start packing my things..." she mumbled, still visibly wrestling with the idea of leaving. "What about all the food in the kitchen? The pantries are all full. There's no way it will survive a long trip without proper storage, but...we can't just leave it, can we?"

Toov frowned a bit and put his massive arms gently around her, "I vill speak to Ashford concerning it." He squeezed her gently, leaning forward to kiss her on the top of the head before whispering, "Do not fret so, mein Liebling. Ve vill be perfectly fine, I promise. Ve suffered zhe move from Rose Hold, und ve vill prosper here as vell, ja?" He rubbed her arm softly, trying to comfort her.

Tanith relaxed at her husband's touch. Her shoulders slackened, the worry fading briefly from her expression. "I suppose so...It's just terribly sudden. Do we even know where we're going?" She tilted her head back to look him in the face. "Isn't it a little strange? Being told to leave suddenly with no reason at all?"

Baldir smiled again. "Vell, ve've certainly seen stranger, ja? I vish I had an ansver, but zhe messenger seemed flustered as is. It's best ve evacuate und zhen vorry about zhe details, nein?" He winked, clearly trying to keep her calm about it. The buzz of soldiers in the throne room had died down considerably, as the workforce of men and materials relocated upstairs to worry about the rest of the Rose's citadel. For the first time since their migration to the keep, Krak seemed barren of life. A ghost of its past.

Tanith frowned. "I suppose the only thing to do is go along with what the Emperor wants in this case." The quiet of the throne room hit her all of a sudden. The walls, which were normally colored with red and green banners bearing their order's crest, looked unbearably naked without their usual adornments. The stillness, which Tanith usually only experienced when the men were away on patrol, weighed heavily on her. She pouted, her bottom lip trembling slightly. She blinked several times, lifting her hands to rub her eyes. "It's too sad, though...We've lived here for so long and now to leave so suddenly."

Toov combated her sadness with a warm smile, leaning down to touch his forehead to hers. "Ve vill vish zhis place goodbye soon, mein Liebling. But, even if only in memories und in our dreams, ve vill return someday." Behind the Captain hung the final banner of the White Rose, a bit of their property that the soldiers had undoubtedly left for fear of interrupting one of their commanders' time with his wife. The warm of the torchlight gave it a cozy look - a last bit of their home. Lifting his gauntlet to her cheek, he tilted her face back and placed a lasting kiss on her lips. Her lowered his hands to her waist, hugging her tightly as they kissed. Tanith sighed softly against his mouth. When they parted, he gently brushed her cheek. "Do not fret, my dear. No matter vhere ve go, I vill be zhere to love you. I do love you. I do not tell you zhat enough."

Settling into his arms, Tanith smiled. "I love you too, Baldir." She reached up and cupped his cheek. The Captain covered her small, fragile hand with his own massive gauntleted one for a moment, smiling. She knew she meant the world to him. And no matter how racist, bigoted, or menacing as people saw him, she at least would know his true colors. She was his Rose.

[Urahra 5359]

[Peter Chivay 2492]

-Civilization is the progress toward a society of privacy. The savage's whole existence is public, ruled by the laws of his tribe. Civilization is the process of setting man apart from savage.-

The fires of the Order continue to burn, even when stretched away from their land. Further does the Order grow when under their own jurisdiction. A Fort on a mountain... a beacon of hope.

The sound of music and industry boom from the epicenter that is the White Rose Fort. The fires of work and creation... hand and hand. Through fire is creation, through fire is light, through fire shall the world be cleansed.

For all it takes is a single Rose to burn to light that flame.

[Samoblivion 531]

((Hello there. I don't mean to come here looking for a fight, but I'm curious as to why The White Rose seemingly hate Dark Elves. As a Dark Elf player aligned with Malinor, the only RP I've experienced related to the Rose has them portrayed as an incredibly racist organisation with an unprovoked vendetta against the Mali'ker. However, since there are always two sides to everything, I just wanted to know a little more about the reasons as to why the Rose view most Dark Elves as filth but seem to tolerate others, for example Urara's character Tanith.

This is for my own curiousity more than anything, since there's a lot of misinformation about the Rose, both IC'ly and OOC'ly.))

[Esterlen 4462]

((Hello there. I don't mean to come here looking for a fight, but I'm curious as to why The White Rose seemingly hate Dark Elves. As a Dark Elf player aligned with Malinor, the only RP I've experienced related to the Rose has them portrayed as an incredibly racist organisation with an unprovoked vendetta against the Mali'ker. However, since there are always two sides to everything, I just wanted to know a little more about the reasons as to why the Rose view most Dark Elves as filth but seem to tolerate others, for example Urara's character Tanith.This is for my own curiousity more than anything, since there's a lot of misinformation about the Rose, both IC'ly and OOC'ly.))

The following is out-of-character for obvious reasons.

Now, I'm probably not the best person to answer this question as my skills of persuasion are limited at best, but I'll try to summarize the deal.

I can't speak for the Order, but most of our characters believe that humans are in fact the superior race - in case you've been informed otherwise, Tanith is a servant and a cook. She's servile, meek and far below us in terms of authority.

Now we've got that out of the way, I'm going to have to give you my old rant.

There is nothing I hate more than people who use their modern-day standards and morals and apply them to their characters. We live in a fairly politically-correct, sheltered world and almost all of us would consider real-life racism, violent activity and religious zealotry to be bad.

But for your character to have the very same opinions? That's not only boring but I would call it bad roleplay. And that's what I, personally, have experienced from every single dark elf roleplayer I have ever come across with the exception of Tanith and Princess Sythra Duskwind. Quite simply, to me they all seem to act the same way - edgy, free-spirited, anti-authority, confrontational, anti-racism, open-minded, liberal and anti-conservative.

My character doesn't need a reason or a provocation to hate dark elves, he just considers them below him. If your character does not act deferent enough, you'll be subject to the 'racism' and the hatred from our characters.

[Samoblivion 531]

The following is out-of-character for obvious reasons.

Now, I'm probably not the best person to answer this question as my skills of persuasion are limited at best, but I'll try to summarize the deal.

I can't speak for the Order, but most of our characters believe that humans are in fact the superior race - in case you've been informed otherwise, Tanith is a servant and a cook. She's servile, meek and far below us in terms of authority.

Now we've got that out of the way, I'm going to have to give you my old rant.

There is nothing I hate more than people who use their modern-day standards and morals and apply them to their characters. We live in a fairly politically-correct, sheltered world and almost all of us would consider real-life racism, violent activity and religious zealotry to be bad.

But for your character to have the very same opinions? That's not only boring but I would call it bad roleplay. And that's what I, personally, have experienced from every single dark elf roleplayer I have ever come across with the exception of Tanith and Princess Sythra Duskwind. Quite simply, to me they all seem to act the same way - edgy, free-spirited, anti-authority, confrontational, anti-racism, open-minded, liberal and anti-conservative.

My character doesn't need a reason or a provocation to hate dark elves, he just considers them below him. If your character does not act deferent enough, you'll be subject to the 'racism' and the hatred from our characters.

((First off, thanks for your reply, although I'd disagree with your blanket dismissal of dark elf roleplayers and their characters. I admit that my character Kaelin does fall into a few of those categories mentioned, but in all, Dark Elf roleplay is more varied than you realise. For example, the Klarens and Nighthearts are at times racist, isolationist and (in the case of the Nighthearts) conservative religious zealots. Heck, back in Asulon, the Klarens used to publically display the corpses of humans who violated their territory after the Ulfhaedyns started placing Darkie heads near their walls.

That aside, I just wondered why the Rose views Dark Elves so low in particular. Why not Orcs or Dwarves, or even other species of elf? Is it to do with the various sinister rumours surrounding Dark Elves or is there just no reason at all aside from racism?

Please bare in mind that I'm not trying to slander the Roses at all, I'm just trying to understand your group a bit more. Following an unfortunate incident involving a Rose and a so called 'Rose hater' on the Stafyr skype chat I thought I'd try to understand the Rose's motivations more, aside from what my character has heard from other elves in game. I'm annoyed when people OOC'ly dismiss a group for their IC actions without learning more about that group's RP and I really don't like to be that sort of person :)

I'd still appreciate the opinions of other Roses as well, however, but thanks for your insight.))

[wealthypiano 394]

*This post is entirely OOC*

First off, I'd like to thank you for coming to us, asking question, rather then making a foolish assumption and hating OOC, for an IC reason.

Second of all, I'll explain why the White Rose targets dark elves. This, I am not entirely sure of the specifics, but it does have something to do with Chivay history, the Chivays being the noble house at the head of the White Rose.

Third of all, I'll bring the racisms of both my major Rose characters into the light, in case people wonder.

For Mathus Oftsea, the "elf hunter", he was brought into maturity by the Chivays, and could almost be considered a ward to them, as they taught him much of what he knows, and almost all of what he knows. This involves many actions he has taken, including his killing of yes, the dark elf leader, Goroth Klaren.

For Arjen de Sarkozy, this character is actually the nephew of Esterlen's character, and will be brought into maturity by his character. Therefore, what he said takes into effect here.

[Samoblivion 531]

*This post is entirely OOC*

First off, I'd like to thank you for coming to us, asking question, rather then making a foolish assumption and hating OOC, for an IC reason.

Second of all, I'll explain why the White Rose targets dark elves. This, I am not entirely sure of the specifics, but it does have something to do with Chivay history, the Chivays being the noble house at the head of the White Rose.

Third of all, I'll bring the racisms of both my major Rose characters into the light, in case people wonder.

For Mathus Oftsea, the "elf hunter", he was brought into maturity by the Chivays, and could almost be considered a ward to them, as they taught him much of what he knows, and almost all of what he knows. This involves many actions he has taken, including his killing of yes, the dark elf leader, Goroth Klaren.

((Goroth Klaren is RP'ly still alive after being resurrected by the monks, but thank you for your response. I agree that people do seem to hate your group without thought, and I didn't want to fall into that trap myself))

[Chaqery 419]

*The following post is obviously OOC as well, and was typed on my phone. I apologize for mistakes in advance.

Well, as the others have said, Sam, I appreciate your legitamate interest as to why the Rose is the way it is. It is a long story, so I suppose I'd better begin.

The White Rose has been in planning far before the actual creation of the Order. When Baldir Toov, Velwyn Ashford, and the Chivay brothers met long ago they decided that something must be done to combat the growing and encroaching darkness upon Oren. The armies had all but fallen apart, and the nobility had resorted to bickering and infighting. As commoners and soldiers by nature, the four of them began to plan out the White Rose. The Salvus war came about, and Thomas, Peter, Baldir, and Velwyn all scattered. Peter was the only to make a relative name for himself, becoming the Commander of House Silverblades forces.

When he was finally knighted, it gave the White Rose enough political standing to found officially. It's pretty important to note that the official goal of the White Rose isn't to erradicate elves at all. It's purpose is to fight heresy, "evil" magic users, and the mass numbers of monsters that infest the countryside. Those numbers have rose exponentially since the transition to 2.5, as everyone is clear. Rose patrols will soon begin to combat these in order to protect the more heavily populated areas of Oren settlement.

The "racism" niche is a result of many things. First off, the Chivay brothers don't much care for elves. As young children a group of elves (primarily dark) executed their parents and much of their family. They raised themselves, which accounts for their more practical nature and less refined nature. They were boys forced to grow up too early because the elves killed everybody they held dear. As the two most notable leaders of the White Rose their opinions understandably rub off.

These feelings permiate to the rest of the Rose for several reasons. One dates back to the early days of the Rose in Rivia. Artorus Elendil hired a dark elf named "Abaddon" as his advisor. He was tribal, very shady, and several times suffered seizure fits as a result of what was apparently some sort of demonic possession or curse. He poisoned the mind of Artorus, an early friend of the Rose, against us. All the suffering he inflicted upon us is now seen as the work of Dark Elves at large. Most of them we come across only aid the stereotype. As for the individual mambers of the Rose their opinions vary pretty radically. You have the Chivays on one end, and then people like my character, equally as in command of the Rose as the Chivays, who is married to Tanith the dark elf. He is passionately in love with Tanith.

In conclusion, as I'm sure I've missed some reasons, the White Rise is racist because IC events have made them that way. Many of the members have suffered at the hand if elves or do not care for the typically elven attitude of elitism. Their main goal is to protect Oren and rid it of darkness and heresy. The racism is just a footnote that people tend to blow far out of proportion. We don't send hunting parties after elves. Most of the time elves approach our patrols, try to assault us as payback for our "racism", and are killed.

I would like to make it clear though that all of our hatred is completely IC. People assume we hate elven players equally as much, which isn't true. We are some of the nicest people OOCly that you'll meet on LOTC... So long as you are nice to us and don't try to give us some sort of attitude based on what you've heard about us.

[Temp 2006]

This is OOC, like the last what... 5 posts? BAH, anyway.

My character isn't racist. However, he dislikes most people. This is a tempered mentality. It isn't something that simply.. "Poofed" itself into existence. I personally, didn't hop on here and say, "Huh.. Lets be a jerk to the Elves, YEA that'll be fun," and I still don't do that. Temp's hatred for nearly everyone is brought on by the general disgust for those of the Order. We walk into town, people make snide remarks, and generally talk trash. When we go on patrol, it's extremely common for people to attack us.

To be blunt, everyone seems to have this "White Rose are vile villainous demons," mentality. I will admit, we tend to be pretty harsh, but what would you expect of a militant organization? On top of that, one hated without distinct reason? We are harsh, not because it amuses us. The Order demands respect, when that fails, it demands fear. Which is why people act the way they do now. They do not truly comprehend us, they hate/fear us.

On an OOC level, we don't bother anyone. We keep to our little huddle, and give petty input on ocassion. Others that know little to nothing of us, spread rumors. We've heard Elves give trade off IC about how we get some sexual thrill out of killing Elves, how we're vile beings that do what we do simply because we can, but we only leave camp when ordered by the Emperor or when harassed. It's just how we do things, and for whatever reason it's brought us a lot of hate. A final word though, this OOC and IC hate doesn't bother us in the slightest. We find it amusing, and thrive on it so please, carry on.

[Cosmik 220]

More OOC, wellwhaddayaknowboi

Seeing as I've only been RPing with the Rose for two days, I'm not a full member and my opinion probably isn't worth much. That being said, I RP'd a Dark Elf warrior and prince for almost 10 months with my previous character. While I wasn't the most famous of dark elves, I had a small reputation with my name and some of the guild recognized me from my elven days. When 2.5 hit I whipped up another character (since Ashur is dead) and started RPing with their chars while getting to know them in TS.

Not only have they accepted me with open arms, but they've been very approachable and I honestly haven't seen any sort of elven hatred from them (at least OOCly). Any sort of racism or hate you may find is RP - nothing more, nothing less.

[ayresalex 517]

the Klarens used to publically display the corpses of humans who violated their territory after the Ulfhaedyns started placing Darkie heads near their walls.

((Hoorah.))

[ACanadianCraft (Nate) 682]

OOC? O-kay.

Jullius was not always racist, but has always been a bully in a big way. If he sees someone or something that he thinks would be fun or worth while to victimise, he would most likely do so ravenously. His initial racism stems from a dysfunctional relationship with a certain dark elf. Said relationship cause Jullius' best friend Gwonam to kill himself. He never forgave either of them, blamed the elf in question for the event. After Gwonam's death, the two continued their relationship, to which she openly cheated on an uncountable amount of times, many of these encounters being that of a homosexual and incestual nature. On another event, she handcuffed Jullius to a bed and ripped out his left eye.

These events and many more are what Jullius' racism is based on. Such happenings tainted his opinion of Dark Elves as immoral savages driven by lust and had only poor intentions. But he was a diplomat who had several Dark Elf underlings at the time, so he concealed his opinions within himself. However, his views dramatically changed when he joined The White Rose after the order being recommended to him by Duke Balian.

When he joined The White Rose, Jullius found a friend in Mathus Oftsea, who fanatically shared his racist views. Upon closer inspection, Jullius found that a good deal his fellows and the senior command harbored distaste for the race. This allowed Jullius' racism to flourish and grow exponentially, as the more flamboyantly racist he acted, the more high command seemed to favor him. As he made more and more friends within the order with similar views, he even created Dark Elf jokes, to which he told frequently as a means to pass the time with the his fellow footmen.

In summary, Jullius' racism stems from a bad relationship and he indulges in it half to gain favor within the order, and half because he take pleasure in belittling others.

[Urahra 5359]

OOC:

Figured I'd add my piece.

I play a dark elf.

I make all the food for the White Rose and my character is married to their Captain, who is also one of their founding members. She's also fairly friendly with the Chivays and Velwyn. If a dark elf acts friendly and not hostile, it's possible to become friendly with the White Rose. Any time someone accuses us of racism, I like to point out the elves among our ranks. There are three, including me.

[firespirit44 1279]

While its against the rules to post OOCly on a guild page, after a discussion with Aryon, its decided explaining the reasoning for hatred/racism ICly will benefit those who might have any doubts oocly. Therefore I have re-approved most of the posts concerning the various personal White Roses reasoning.

If anyone has any qualms with this, feel free to message me.