_Grim1_

((Well, we go tonight. ((Let's hope some people--and some antags!--show up, and that if the way is physically blocked that there's someone there to RP removing that blockage with. Like, y'know...pesky bridges. Hehe. ((TO THE NORTH WE TREAD, THE FEET AND HEARTS OF DESPERATE MEN!)

Kargul reads this note and laughs to himself. "Wyll...mi awlwaiz grukd deyr wuz nub wall mi kudnub cliym, nub fing mi kudnub hunt...gezz mi ged tu add nub brijj mi kudnub crozz, nuw. Hur hur. Wez guin Norf!" Kargul tears down Lark's note and scrawls roughly on the bottom: 'Oi, gits. Wez guin in a fortdai ((as posted times)) zu ged latzelf reddeh. Agh lazzez. Dun gruk mi hab furgudden bowd Arrwa Geminininy." He quickly paints on his customary white laughing skull symbol and moves off to put his affairs in order, before turning in at a tavern and proceeding to get blind drunk on 'shara pizzwarteh'. ((No wall I cannot climb. No thing I cannot hunt. No bridge I cannot cross. WE GO NORTH!

((Ok, so I have a list of the people who want to come. At the moment/my current situation I can only reliably get on to LotC after around about 9-ish GMT+8.00. Read this, and if enough people don't think they can make that time then it'll be in about 1 IRL week, whereupon I am back to normal with my online times. ((How this will work is us literally walking North until something happens. I'll try to get in contact with some event team members or antags--friends in 'high' places--and see if they wouldn't mind providing some RP for the long march. Most likely this will be guerilla warfare style, with stealth raids and maybe some small pitched battles. Kargul is pretty blood-hungry for whatever's been harshing his mellow for nearly a year--being vaguely attuned to the spirits and the slowly-blighted nature--and these 'monsters from the north' are all he needed to blow off some steam. ((So far the list of participants is as follows. Please post here with your GMT/what time you can be on for FRIDAY 19th July, 19/7/2013, approx 9:00PM GMT+8 and I'll update the main post to include that information: Sirxzavier as Aramis Paraduck123 as Tyrone Fordion mthdominator as Arya Geminine Patriotic_Fool as Aislinn Kaon the Turtle as Spider tnoy23 as Toby crayfishchris as Kristian von Craw If for any reason you can't make it, please post here. Kargul will be waiting in Abresi for the participants. Thanks all! - _Grim1_

Kargul waits in Abresi, getting drunk and brawling to wait out the days. He takes a moment to read some of the notes, glad to see that no knights have taken it down yet. He's too drunk to fight someone in armour right now. "Arra...Ghemininy? Hmmph. Lat kan kom ib lat wund. Beddah ged hozh ad klomp'n, tho." he growls, scratching his chin. He posts a note to the same effect on the poster, notifying Arya Geminine that if she wishes to participate, she must come at least partially trained with a weapon, even if only a dagger. "Aind habbin nub preddeh laydehz geddin flat un mi peep." he chuckles.

Your hope is wasted, ahem. I wanted confirmation that people would like the roleplay. I took a break from LotC today, and have stopped RPing as my Graven, because I'm waiting for confirmation from the Lore team and GMs, which is the purpose of this thread. Besides that, yes, I've looked at the regulations. As far as I could tell, these counts as 'new playable creatures', and as such need approval. Someone should probably stop me if I need to PM a GM or LT member for the approval part. I thought I just needed to 'build it and they would come' i.e. lore post. Apologies for any inconvenience. On the other hand, if you've experienced Graven RP, post a comment here reviewing it. I think if the GMs see what people think of this lore, they might be more (or less, depending on the comments) likely to accept it. - _Grim1_, hauntin' hauntin', hide yo kids, hide yo wife, cos he's hauntin' everybody out there.

Lol. "A Merchant's Folly" and "The Harbinger's Trial" are both Abresi. Though my latest massive haunting RP i failed to remember to take screenies...>.< Anyways, thank you! It's always good to hear people like your RP. - _Grim1_

The Warden of Lost Souls flickers, staring at the town men call 'Ager'. "I sense one who has not moved on. Time enough for that in time...perhaps." The Warden grins gleefully, readying its sickle and moving towards the 'abandoned' orphanage. "Not this time." ((my ghost'll fight your ghost. when are you on?)) - _Grim1_

I'd just like to say: Graven. - _Grim1_ P.S. We are recruiting, soon!

I honestly don't know what to say. I didn't think people would like it this much. *blushes* That's pretty badarse. I've been haunting Abresi, btw, if you want to experience some of the RP. - _Grim1_

I was actually really surprised people like the idea this much. Everyone I've tested it with has liked it a lot! It makes me pretty confident about this becoming accepted lore, which might be a bad thing if the lore team takes an axe to it. Regardless; If it gets accepted I'll put up the Graven application form soon. I'm thinking like maybe 2 Graven to 100 normal players. Since we get about 150-250 players at peak, that means the max number of Graven is probably going to be 4 or 5. The Lore Team might want smaller numbers though, so we'll see what happens. - _Grim1_, haunting like a bawss.

The Graven Spirits of Duty Unfulfilled Introduction It is a cold, wintry night. The road has not yet frozen over, but the winter snows are due any time now. You are walking along the path, shivering and hurrying towards your destination. A mistake, to have walked this way at night; there might be bandits and such about--but you had to. Suddenly the air turns chill. It had been cold but now it is ice. Your teeth begin to chatter--and over that sound another may be heard: the sound of digging, an iron shovel cutting into the frost-hardened dirt. "Who's there?" you might cry out. Silence. You walk a little faster, attempting to convince yourself that it was nothing. "Just the wind." you tell yourself, on this windless night. The sound of digging does not abate. You break into a run, stopping some distance ahead, sure you have outrun the strangely-terrifying sound. A heavy thud and scrape. A shovel, breaking into the loam and casting it aside in a heap. "Who's there?!" you'd scream again, "What do you want?" If unlucky, one might espy between the trees an awful figure. One of us. A man in a leather cowl, a hunch in his back and a shovel in his green-tinged hands. The eyes beneath the cowl are barely visible, but they burn green, casting no illumination on the darkness of his face. "Need t' bury me quota." it says ominously, raising the shovel and resting it upon its disfigured shoulders. "Q-quota?" "Souls. Tha ward'n collects 'em, brings 'em t' me." it says, hefting the shovel once more, and moving away from digging what is now clearly visible as a grave. "T-the warden?" "O' Lost Souls, yeh. 'Couse, he don't always collect 'em alone." the figure smiles, cracked lips barely visible beneath his cowl. "Sometimes I lend 'im a hand." The gravedigger laughs, moving back to his task. After all, he must bury his quota before he can rest. You run, never looking back. What are the Graven? The Graven are a kind of spirit, a type of ghost if you will. However, they are subtly different. Whereas ghosts generally retain most of the sentience they had in life, and can 'adapt' to their surroundings, Graven are more similar to apparitions--which are bound to one area, the site of the mass death that spawned them, and cannot leave it unless that place is destroyed--in that they are bound to one task or duty for eternity until their quest is complete or they are destroyed for good. Like apparitions, Graven can prove difficult to exorcise fully, but are much more easily damaged with common steel, not requiring gold or silver to slay. Graven tend to manifest semi-corporeal, seeming ghostly but possessing form and figure. Without this corporeality, limited though it is, they would not be able to complete their tasks, and would be tormented for all eternity in a state of agonising limbo. Graven are created by the violent or unlawful death of an individual who is singularly devoted to their work or an ideal. An alchemist who devoted their entire life to finding the cure to a disease, but was murdered by a competitor, might rise again as a Graven, seeking not revenge as a poltergeist might, but instead the completion of their life's task. In this case, it would be the finalisation of a cure, after which the Graven would slowly fade away unless given another task by a figure it recognised in life. Given that most Graven take several hundred years to rise from death initially, this is highly unlikely, although if the alchemist was an elf, a long-lived family member might be able to command him to remain. This remnant would be a bare shell of the alchemist, hardly recognisable as what he was in life. This is the curse of the Graven. Some example of Graven might be a prison warden, forever questing for more criminals to incarcerate that he might practice his foul tortures upon them, but killed by rioting prisoners; a gravedigger, devoted to his work but laid to rest without heirs, or a single-minded general, assassinated the night before a major battle in a war. These Graven would rise with only one task in mind; the duty that consumed them in life. It generally takes a violent or unlawful death to raise a Graven, and most of the people who knew that person would be long dead by the time it happens. Such as it is, Graven are cursed to perform a single task for eternity, be it a warden's duty, a gravedigger's burden, or a general's burning desire for victory over the foulest foes. What can Graven do? The Graven are spirits, meaning their interaction with the world of Anthos is limited to the one duty they treasured in life. A gravedigger is bound to spend eternity digging graves and safeguarding cemetaries. A prison warden must hunt down murderers and worse until the end of days. A general might return as a ghostly leader in the bloodiest battles, or in rare cases lead a small army of Graven to lay siege to strongholds the enemy held in life. The degree to which a Graven returns to fulfil his eternal task depends on his or her zeal in life. Graven are semi-corporeal. They have bodies--commonly wreathed in illusory darkness or spectral flame--that can be harmed like any mortal, and unlike ghosts this harm may be perpetrated by a wielder of steel instead of silver or gold. However, in the case of more violent Graven, this corporeality also means they are able to harm others. In my favourite example, the prison warden hunts down and attacks murderers, intending to drag them back to Fumblemore's excellent Shackle's Silence idea (once it's accepted, wink wink nudge nudge) a giant prison for criminals of the worst kind--in pieces, if necessary. Other Graven may be less violent but can still interact with the world around them; a Gravedigger digs graves to bury the recently departed and fulfil his quota. If someone tried to desecrate a graveyard, the Gravedigger would most likely attack them, but any other person would be able to hold a decent conversation with him, if brave enough. It differs, from Graven to Graven; some are more or less violent or vigorous than others. Graven also sometimes appear to flicker, or fade from sight. This occurs because the spirit energy that ties them to this world cannot bind their soul here for long. Graven very literally work for their living; the task that constitutes their eternal burden refreshes and rejuvenates them. Upon laying a body to rest, the gravedigger would feel energised, but after a period of time spent without digging, they fade away until they can muster enough energy to manifest once more. This process is automatic--Graven cannot choose when they are reborn. It also means that Graven can 'die' or be slain. Disrupting their spectral form--with a sword blade, for example--consumes the fuelling energy that keeps them alive; stabbing a Graven through what remains of its heart will kill it as surely as any mortal man. What do Graven look like? Graven generally appear as undead or spectral beings. They might have blue-green flames instead of flesh, and a blackened skeletal visage; rotted skin and flesh tinged poison-green; or even be translucent, like your common, run of the mill ghost. However, Graven usually appear to have corporeal equipment or apparel, unlike ghosts. This equipment very rarely appears illusory, unlike their spectral forms. Looking a Graven in the eyes too closely reveal the screaming, trapped spirit within. This can commonly drive mortals temporarily insane. What benefit will the server receive, from allowing this lore? In my eyes, the Graven will benefit the server as creators of otherworldly roleplay, as well as a caution to any who think villainy has no consequence. It will bring some defining and landmark encounters with ghostly figures that should make any character stop and think, and create an extra dimension to villain that inspires caution and careful consideration--after all, who knows when a Graven--a fanatical keeper of the peace in life--might step from around the corner and witness a murder, drawing his broadsword and charging with a battle roar. Likewise, a lonely old gravedigger doing his job late at night might be visited by a spectral helper armed with a shovel who helps him complete his task--any grave robbers who approach, looking for easy pickings, are beaten senseless by this ghostly guardian. In short, it will create roleplay. Good roleplay, hopefully--and on that note, I present these screenshots as evidence. I realise it was against the rules to roleplay as this character without an accepted lore post, but I truly wanted to see if the roleplay would appeal to players of the server. It turns out, of the four times I used the character 'Warden', my Graven altchar, I received comments that the roleplay was more than positive no less than four times. I'd say that's roleplay that appeals, wouldn't you? Without further ado. The Harbinger's Trial Fun in Kralta A Merchant's Folly A Haunting In Salvus What benefit will players receive, if this lore is accepted? I'll begin with material rewards, to keep everyone happy. Firstly, if this lore is accepted, all Graven characters will be required to drop a material reward of some kind on the event of their 'death'--represented as an inability to continue manifesting due to excessive consumption of spirit energy in game--for example, Warden drops his lantern with a 'soul' in it. This will be represented as a potion bottle; if Warden is slain whilst using a murderer's soul, for example, it might be a potion of strength. A torturer's soul might be a splash potion of poison or blindness; an innocent soul might be splash healing, or haste. A gravedigger might drop his ornate iron shovel, a general may leave behind an armoured chestplate. It all depends on the Graven in question, but you can depend on some kind of worthwhile reward for slaying a Graven. However, the second benefit is the roleplay Graven create. It is, by all the first-hand accounts I've collected above, 'spooky', 'amazing' and 'badass'. This would seem to make it worthwhile, and the character Damen from the "Fun in Kralta" account has ideas of formulating a ghost-busting service in Kralta, due to my Graven spooking him, and the increasing appearance of monsters and other horrors in our fair realm, such as the drake and river monsters that recently attacked the quaint town. It has the potential to change the way characters look at the world, or to give them a permanent fear of what might lurk in the dark. Criminals should begin to find new consequences for their crimes, as Graven take vengeance for those who cannot take it themselves. This seems powergamey? I've strived all through my roleplaying life not to godgame, as I first knew it on a roleplay forum. I pride myself on not powergaming; of course, that is my own opinion. However, to bring comfort to other users that Graven will not be powergame, they are subject to a number of restrictions: They can die, and you don't need gold or silver. They can't manifest forever, and need to sustain themselves by furthering their burden of duty. They possess the physical traits of the original corpse. A human Graven has the strength, agility and attributes of a human, whereas an orcish Graven has orcish strength and bloodlust. They aren't fully incorporeal. No phasing through walls, no flying or floating, no walking through people. They tend to flicker or appear as an outline when weak or first manifesting, but these effects are purely aesthetic. They may only act in the interest of furthering their burden of duty. Anything else causes a Graven great pain, and eventually to fade and have to remanifest. They are subject to the same respawn-after-death time as other players (30 minutes.) They are as easy or as hard to slay as any other character. A Graven with no neck (i.e. if it has spectral green fire for flesh) can still be decapitated. Graven have no specific special abilities in combat, unless the Graven in question has a MA or some other form of extraordinary attack. Hopefully this is enough to convince people that Graven are not powergame. If not, you can always talk to me about it, and see if I can calm your fears. If you're still not convinced after that, well, I suppose it depends on whether this gets accepted by the lore team or not. Here's hoping! How is this different from the undead of Aegis/we aren't having multitudes of undead again I understand that this idea might cause consternation among the staff and event team. I think I read somewhere that they weren't doing Aegis-style undead again. Well, as far as I can tell Graven aren't similar, nor will they ever be prevalent. Similar to ents, golems and other magical creatures, Graven will have a limited player base. As I said, I shall craft an application form or some such, if that isn't too presumptuous of me. Thank you for taking the time to read this lore post. It is my first, if that's relevant. If there's any way I can further improve it or its chances of being accepted, post here or PM me and I'll see what I can do. Thanks, all! Graven Application Form Spirits of Duty Unfulfilled Post applications in this forum. Please note that I probably won't be accepted more than 4 or 5 Graven (if I even get that many) so be quick. - _Grim1_

A large, green-skinned figure walks away from a wall near the main square in Abresi, not far from the gates, leaving behind a poster attached to it. It reads, in a barely-legible scrawl: ATTENZHUN GITS AZH. Aniazh hoo kan reed diz, hozh. Ib ya kand, lat idz a git. DUB. Teyah diz duwn agh mi flat lat. Nu joekz, juzt mi zultz agh lat gutz un da floowah. Mi am very zeriuz. Azk (the words here are written and scratched out many, many times) Pertinax Horen ib lat dunnub beleab mi. Hym am peepd wub mi du tu skah hoo pizz mi uff, agh payd mi tu du id tu ovah peepul tu. GAKH. Led id bi grukd dat Kargul'Agrak, da Larfin Skuwl agh bownteh huntah ob zum renown, idz peepin fur gitz, dumbskah agh anibuddeh braev enuf tu flat nubded skah agh draggunz. Wez guin Norf. Datz up, ib lat peep ad a map. Mi gruk lat shara aind zo zmart, zo mi grukd mi wuld blah lat. FUTH. Deyrs lutza snuw agh culd skah, agh nubded agh draggunz. Bring lutza zultz agh furz tu kiip lat dumbskah arze wurm. H'. Mi am bi hangin arown Abrezi fur a whiyl, gavverin vulunteeyahz. Ib lat wun tu nub bi flat biy nubded, lat am komin wif mi. Bring zult agh lusk. H'AZH. Skah am habbunin tu Anfos agh wi am gunna ztup id. Fynd mi ib lat wunna kom agh klomp nubded. Mi bi zumwheyr in Abrezi. The poster is signed only with a crudely-painted symbol of a white, laughing skull. (I'm sure many of you have heard that the antagonist is on his/her/its way, and that Kralta was recently attacked by a drake. As far as I know, there is also a faction of undead-or-close-to-it Dread Knights massing an army of the dead near the ice wall in the North. In summary, Kargul is asking for volunteers to join him in going North to fight evil beasties. It'll be dangerous and if I know the server it'll be fun, too. I'm not sure if this will be frowned upon by the event team, but it'll consist of a small group of people (minimum 5 brave souls not afraid to lay down their lives in the name of honour and glory) going to hell and back to chop up some undead and get some good stories in the mean time.) - _Grim1_ P.S. 10 to 1 bet this gets torn down by some self-righteous orc-hating knight, and Kargul gets to put a new notch in his swords after he's finishing brutally murdering them for insulting his honour. HONA TU DA LARFIN SKUWL! P.P.S. For the more sceptical among you, this is not a ruse or a trap for those who volunteer. I/Kargul actually want to go North and fight monsters, not murder innocent randoms. Not in my character's honour code to do such a thing. IC racism, of course, is permitted. Grab your sword and fight the horde! ... of undead monstrosities. Yippie-kai-aye!

If you need minions of darkness, I'm available. PM me or post here if there's a spot for me, I'd really enjoy bringing this kind of RP to players on the server. - _Grim1_

MC Name: _Grim1_ Character Name: Kargul Clan: Agrak Ranks/Positions: "Chieftain" Timezone, preferably in GMT: GMT+8 URUKZ!

Kargul stops, reading the poster. "Wub da skah? Ayzlinn? Mi grukd hym wuz a hozh klompa bud..." Kargul makes a supreme effort to discern the exact wording of Aislinn's crimes. "Murdah...hmm...id depenz. Honarabul ur nub...idz gutta bi azh ob dem." Kargul makes a mental note to ask Aislinn next time he sees him, and deal with the elf appropriately. Meanwhile _Grim1_'s half-baked, completely unapproved (as of yet) altchar Warden, a vengeful spirit who collects the souls of murderers and worse, makes a mental note of the poster and the description of the man enscribed, just in case _Grim1_ actually does manage to get him approved.

I approve of this message. Call 'em the Tall Men. 'Nuff said. Grim1 out. - _Grim1_

Oddly, somewhere in the snows outside, a green figure stands, looking up at the mighty dwarfholds, and listening, though one could not possibly hear from such a distance. Kargul'Agrak grins, shuffling some snow off his foot with the other, and checking his weapons. "Da gazat am hozh, tu klomp agenz Ibleez. Mi blah da urukz--diz uruk, aniwai--klompz wif em!" Kargul unsheathes and raises his weapons in a grim salute, preparing for war against humanity.

Kargul waits eagerly for the return of the dark elves to Malinor, hoping against hope to find someone to spend a few good nights with and grinning at the prospect.

Kargul hears the Anthos-wide echo of the White Roses foolish laughter, and grins. "Mebbeh mi am siyn ub. Mi nebbeh bin a mahween befuar...eiva wai...mi gunna ztump zum flowahz."

Kargul grins wolfishly, looking up upon hearing words of mild violence. He is further enthralled by promises that dark elves will again live in Malinor, and blinks, one-eyed, for a few minutes before clenching one fist triumphantly. "Da preddeh azhz am komin bak tu Maluhnur, hur hur. Diz gunna bi a hozh tic, biy Krug id wyll bi." Kargul looks around for something to hunt before remembering he is in the elven forests. Instead, he grumbles a little, and moves towards the new-fledged university building, hoping perhaps to instruct young elves in the art of combat. Foremost in his mind, however, is the prospect of a city full of dark elves. Kargul smiles, wolfishly, and barks a short laugh before turning to leave.

Kargul lifts his head, as whispers of warfare spread amongst the elves in Malinor. It'd only been a few days--no, weeks...had it been that long already?--and already he missed the thrill of battle. But, as the rumours went, the dwarves of Kal'Urguan offered up a opportunity no orc could pass up. "Zum shara am honarabul. Zum aind." Kargul picks up his weapons belt and puts it back on, grinning as the elves around him stare with abject horror and shake their heads. "Deze azhz aind. Whyt Roezez am gunna gruk da naem ob da Larfin Skuwl, agh dem gunna pai fur awl dem hab dun. Dem gunna pai, awl riet. FLAT EM ALL!"

Kargul lurks in a corner, watching Thurak deliver his speech and scowling. "Nub hona." he hisses, turning away to walk off into the dunes, "Krug pizz un awl ob uz, bruddahs. Wi hab luzt owah hona." Kargul may later be spotted in the elven lands, writing in a book peaceably, his weapons belt studded with swords, new composite bow and quiver with barbed arrows slung over his shoulder. He may be noted to be muttering to himself. "Ztuupid. Lat kand flat shara ib lat kand ged in deyr siddeh. Agh eben ib lat did wund tu flat shara fur nub reezon...wyll, da siddehs am cloezed. Albai wund helb uz, nub ib da shara burn deyr fureztz agen. Gazat wund helb uz. Dey'll gib da shara deyr warr masheens. Agh da Kharajyr..." Kargul looks up suddenly, recalling his conversation with a Kharajyr warrior almost a year ago. "Da Kha culd helb uz! Har! Har har!" Kargul sets off into the jungles, determined to seek out of the city of the cat-men.

Kargul scratches his chin thoughtfully, taking off his helmet to better read the note, and revealing the grotesque nature of his injuries--his skull, gleaming white in the morning sunlight, is bared to the wind and the rain. "Hmm." he says, betraying the fact that he finds it difficult to read. "Zkriyb...awfur..." Kargul grins happily, making a parting comment before walking away. "Awlwaiz hozh tu piip anuvah ob uz."

@VonAulus - I'd love to see it. I've always been sorta curious about Grool. @Felonious of the Opera - Yeah, that raid was fine, even if I had to leave early. I use Feathers, my hawk, quite often now, after seeing how much fun it can be for all involved to have a bird join the fight by eating messenger birds sent for help. - _Grim1_

Thanks Telanir! You're the best! - _Grim1_ errant fanboy P.S. Read the dev blog. SQUEEEEEEEE